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MEMORIALS 



CHARLES STODDARD. 



BY HIS DAUGHTER, 

MARY STODDARD JOHNSON. 



/3z&oJ' : 



BOSTON: 

CONGREGATIONAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY, 

BEACON STREET. 

1876. 



qS 






JTHE LIBRARY 
lor CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



Copyright. 

CONGREGATIONAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY. 
1875. 



STEREOTYPED BY 

C. J. Peters & Son, 73 Federal Street, Boston. 



Press of Rand, Avery, <5r» Co. 



TO 

MY MOTHER, 

Mary A. Stoddard, 

(Efjts Uolume is IBefctcatetf, 

WITH THE GRATEFUL LOVE OF 

HER DAUGHTER. 



PKEFACE. 



rpHE letters of Mr. Stoddard, which form the 
-■- chief part of this volume, with various memo- 
ries t# serve as connecting links, are prepared for 
the public at the request of friends. These friends 
believe that the example of his life may prove a 
stimulus and encouragement to others, because like 
achievements are open to all. Its purity was its 
glory ; its heroism was an unconquerable purpose 
to follow the truth, and obey God. 

The interest of the memoir will not be found in 
marked events that attract attention, nor in violent 
contrasts of feeling such as distinguish the lives of 
some men. On the contrar}", the da}'s of my 
father's life move on quietly; while through each, 
like a golden thread of sunlight, runs a single, lofty 
purpose, illumining the whole. It is with diffidence 
that this work is undertaken, — a work which others 
might have much better performed. 

Known as was nry father's reluctance to publi- 
city, I feel a peculiar satisfaction in finding among 
his letters one to a brother, written } T ears ago, which 
contains a virtual sanction of this narrative of his 

5 



6 PREFACE. 

deeds and words. The extract was in reference to 
the publication of a biography of a mutual friend. 
U I have been long," he writes, " in the habit of 
reading well- written biographies of good men ; and 
think they are of excellent influence when well pre- 
pared, and where the character was truly excellent. 
How great and blessed has been the influence of the 
published memoir of Henry Mart} T n, of Brainerd, 
of Payson, and others ! How many have been 
stirred, by reading such works, to a higher stand- 
dard of Christian character and devotedness ! A 
good man should wish to do good not only while 
he lives, but after he is gone, by the help of the 
printed page. And I should be willing that those 
who survive me should make such a disposition of 
my mental remains as they may think proper ; 
and if any thing I have said or done> is b} 7 them 
thought to be useful to the cause of Christ, let 
them print it." 

To those who have aided me in this undertaking, 
by furnishing letters, or by their counsel and sym- 
pathy, I return my thanks, trusting that any imper- 
fections which appear in the manner of the work 
will not lessen its usefulness or its interest. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 
I. 

Childhood and Early Youth 9 

IT. - 
Character unfolded 39 

in. 

His Sabbath- School Work— Its Joy and its Re- 
sults 77 

IV. 
Personal Religious Activity 106 

V. 
Home Life 135 

VI. 

Letters — Various Topics ..... 1G4 

VH. 
Devotion to the Missionary Enterprise . . . 188 

vnr. 

Travels Abroad . . 218 

IX. 
Domestic Characteristics — Public Spirit . . . 230 

X. 

A Picture of Slavery — The Father's Counsel . 258 

7 



8 CONTENTS. 

XL 
Letters to David T. Stoddard — Dr. J. P. Thomp- 
son's Tribute 289 

XII. 
Business Traits and Habits . . ... 311 

XIII. 
Letters of Advice and Friendship .... 334 

XIV. 
Letters, Temperance Counsels to Youth, &c. . 350 

XV. 
The Second Journey to Europe 371 

XVI. 
The Ministry of Love at Home .... 383 

XVII. 
Patriotism and Practical Wisdom . . . 399 

XVIH. 
Patriotism, Moral Courage 426 

XIX. 

Fruits of the Spirit borne in his Life . . . 439 

XX. 

Closing Correspondence 405 

XXI. 
Conclusion 511 



MEMORIALS 

OF 

CHARLES STODDARD. 



CHILDHOOD AND EARLY YOUTH. 

18024819. 

T I ^HE early life of my father was passed 
-■- in Northampton, Mass. He was born in 
June, 1802; the second of a family of seven 
children, six of them sons. He breathed from 
his birth that tonic atmosphere for which New 
England has been both praised arid blamed. 
His father was a lawyer, of steadfast integrity ; 
his mother, a stanch Pilgrim matron, who 
sought to promote in her sons a healthy 
physical development, who roused their mental 
powers by her sound sense and lively wit, and, 
above all, imbued them from infancy with a 
sense of personal responsibility. 

His parents were aided in this training by 

9 



10 MEMORIALS OF 

the records and stimulus of an ancestry char- 
acterized by its peculiar devotion to the ser- 
vice of God; Solomon Stoddard the minister, 
and Jonathan Edwards the theologian and 
divine, being of the same stock. The scenery 
of the Connecticut Valley, no doubt, had its 
share in moulding the early habits of this quiet 
child, while he possessed from childhood a rev- 
erence which fitted him well to receive the 
training Nature gives to those who bend loving- 
ly before the beauty and majesty of God's 
works. 

The birds and trees all spoke to him; not 
only in their natural beauty, but as created by 
God, his Father in heaven. So early did his 
conscience awake, that, in later life, he said he 
remembered sitting under the trees in the gar- 
den at home, when five years old, and wishing 
that he were one of the birds, because they 
praised GocV; and he felt that he was not in 
harmony with them, and could not sing. 

He attended school, and at home, in the 
long evenings of winter, either was reader, or 
listener to some history selected for family 
improvement. Boy-like, and tired with his 
school and play, he sometimes nodded over 
interesting pages ; for which, in his first absence 



CHARLES STODDARD. \\ 

from home, he was disposed to blame himself, 
feeling that he had neglected some educational 
advantages. 

But his home life was short. His elder 
brother was fitting for college; and it was 
deemed wise to prepare Charles for a business 
career. These years, however, were carefully 
improved for his moral training. 

In later days he used to recall the quiet, 
solemn, yet earnest words of his mother, after 
the house was still, and all lights put out ; 
when, in his room with him alone, she urged 
him to choose whom he would serve for life. 

Such armor did they prepare for him in the 
home, while he remained in it ; and, when he 
went forth, he was followed with earnest prayer 
and faithful love. 

In Puritan families, they lived closely to the 
teaching of the Bible, as they understood it. 
My father's experience, although remote from 
Jewish times, himself not descended from Jew- 
ish stock, in a new country, and in the nine- 
teenth century, recalls, in the opening of his 
life, those earlier forms and habits. 

In 1814, at twelve years of age, he went to 
Portsmouth to reside with an uncle, then in 
business there. 



12 MEMORIALS OF 

From this time, his letters chiefly give the 
events and tone of* his character. 

He left home when twelve years of age, in 
September, 1814. 

He says to his mother in his first letter 
home, "We rode in the stage ninety miles to 
Watertown, where we lodged, and next morn- 
ing to Boston. I feasted my eyes with wonder 
from the top of the State House. We called 

on Uncle H and his wife, and found her 

sitting by herself knitting. I had a very pleas- 
ant ride, but I long to hear from you. We are 
all well here, which is a great blessing. I hope 
I shall live to see you again ; but, if it is other- 
wise determined, I earnestly hope we shall all 
meet in another and better world." . 

In November he writes : — 

" My dear Parents, — I received your let- 
ter by the mail, dated Nov. 17, with the pleas- 
ure which it always gives me to hear from my 
dearest friends. I have been anxious, since I 
have been here, about the things of eternity; 
but I fear that I have never been sincere in 
crying for the pardon of my sins. It is in love 
to my soul that God thus spares 'me; and oh, 
how great will be my condemnation if I neglect 



CHARLES STODDARD. 13 

so great salvation ! The awful day is coming 
when I shall have to give an accurate account 
of all the thoughts, words, and actions that 
have ever entered my mind. Oh that I duly 
considered this ! If I did, I am sure that I 
should live more as if God's eye was upon me. 
May God make me to love and serve Him ; and, 
in the awful hour of death, put strength into 
my departing spirit, and receive me into his 
more immediate presence, in the heavenly 
world ! 

" Give my love to all my friends." 

In December of the same year, he writes, 
showing how he loves his own home : — 

" My dear Parents, — I have not heard from 
home since I received papa's letter by the mail, 
about three weeks since. I long to hear from 
you ; for I feel the separation more than ever 
now, but am far from being discontented with 
my good uncle and aunt. I feel that my heart 
is like steel, and is not willing that Christ 
should reign over me. Tell Solomon there is 
nothing worth seeking for in this world, in com- 
parison with religion. How much of my time 
have I wasted in following after vanity ! May 
I be able to redeem that I have lost and mis- 
2 



14 MEMORIALS OF 

spent, by redoubled diligence ! I often think of 
the time when I shall visit you ; but if we 
never meet in this world of separation, oh, may 
we meet in heaven ; to spend an eternity to- 
gether, in celebrating the praises of redeeming 
love!" 

The letters written when he was fourteen 
years old show that his soul was keenly awake 
to its needs, and that his attention, once fairly 
roused, would not be put off with any thing 
short of truth in himself. He thanks his 
mother for her kind instructions, and asks 
either her, or his father, to explain Isa. xxviii. 
17 : " Judgment will I lay to the line, and right- 
eousness to the plummet; and the hail shall 
sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters 
shall overflow the hiding place." There is no 
indication of ill health, nor of dreary home- 
sickness, at this period. The letters are written 
in a clear, careful hand, and are not unlike in 
character the handwriting of his later years., 
In a letter in March, 1816, he rejoices in the 
return of peace. " Oh, may we long enjoy this 
blessing ! and may it hasten on the happy time 
when wars shall cease, and the kingdom of the 
Redeemer spread and flourish throughout the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 15 

world ! I believe that this was an unexpected 
interposition of Providence to my native land." 
Again : " I have now been separated from my 
parents more than eight months ; but there is 
not a day passes in which I do not think of you. 
Have I spent this time as I ought ? I am study- 
ing English grammar, ciphering, the dictionarj 7 -, 
writing, &c." 

At this time he made a journey and visit 
home, returning to Boston, where he made it 
his future residence, broken only by a yearly 
visit to Northampton. Being more occupied 
with his daily business, he excuses himself for 
not writing often nor at length, and says : — 

" Be assured that I often think of you, and 
my dearest friends at Northampton ; nor shall I 
forget when I last parted from you. May I be 
able, if God will, to support you in your old 
age, and make you some returns for all your 
kindness to me in my infancy and ever since, 
though I know that I can never repay you ! 
I stay at the store part of the evenings, and 
have part of the evenings to myself. I intend 
to read Rollin's ' Ancient History.' I am very 
well contented to live in Boston, considering 
the many advantages, which, if rightly im- 



16 MEMORIALS OF 

proved, will turn to my benefit. And, if exposed 
to temptations here, I hope I shall be enabled to 
resist and overcome them." 

The year 1816 opens with a warm greeting 
to his family at home, and an abstract of a 
sermon by Dr. Channing, whose ministry he 
attended during a number of years in the earlier 
part of his residence in Boston. Though but 
fourteen years old, he does not forget to send a 
" French doll to his sister," some " fruit to dear 
parents," and writes often and fondly. 

"February 25. 

" There are many things that ought to remind 
me that my soul is immortal, and that there 
is great need of securing its happiness. I was 
reading the other day in a book, and came 
across this passage : ' All things are serious 
around us. God is serious, Jesus Christ is seri- 
ous, the Holy Spirit is serious, the world is 
serious ; and it is very strange that man is not 
serious.' I am now reading Rollin's ' Ancient 
History,' and have got as far as the history of 
the Carthaginians. It is strange to see a people, 
so wise as the Egyptians in other matters, so 
ignorant of religion as to worship cats, croco- 
diles, and the like creatures. John G , the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 17 

apprentice in th,e store, has a brother who has 
just arrived from India, who gives a very 
melancholy account of the heathen. He says 
he has seen young females burnt alive at the 
death of their husbands, and many such horrors. 
He says he thinks the missionaries will return, 
for they do not see that they can do any good 
in India." 

April 4, 1816, he writes : — 

"Deae Mother, — I have long wished to 
hear from you, though I know that you cannot 
easily find time to write with your numerous 
family. I sometimes feel more, and sometimes 
less, impressed with the importance of a reli- 
gious life. I have formed no intimate religious 
friends here, but there are a great many lec- 
tures and meetings here, which I frequently 
attend. I do not go out in the evenings, except 
to my uncle's, and relatives'. I mean to spend 
next Sabbath in Brookline with my aunt." 

In answer to a letter telling of his mother's 
proposed visit to Boston, he says : — 

" Dear Father, — I need not tell you my 
feelings on hearing that dear mother will come 
down here on a visit. You mentioned that I 

2* 



18 MEMORIALS OF 

must not think too much of it ; and I know 
that such creatures as we are cannot look into 
futurity, and see what may put an end to our 
prospects. I hope, that while others are learn- 
ing, as you tell me, of Him who is meek and 
lowly, I may not be left to grow hard in sin. 
It must have been interesting to see so many 
testify what God has wrought, by joining his 
church: My letters are not so frequent as I 
could wish in the hurry of business." 

In October, 1816, he speaks of his anxiety 
lest his mother should overtax herself in writ- 
ing to him, and then says : — 

" Mr. Channing, our minister, has been lately 
confined to his bed with sickness, and has also 
lost a child. 

" He preached on Sabbath afternoon for the 
first time since, from these words : 4 Acquaint 
now thyself with God, and be at peace.' His 
sermon was very affectionate and solemn. For 
my part, I could not keep my eyes and attention 
from him through the whole discourse. I trust 
that I feel that there is great danger in early 
life of contracting bad habits ; but, if it is my 
sincere desire to be made wise unto salvation, 
it will not be denied me. It is, I earnestly 



CHARLES STODDARD. 19 

hope, my supreme desire, that, as I grow in 
years, I may grow in the knowledge of God my 
Saviour. As I am forming a character for an 
endless eternity, it becomes me not to let a 
moment pass unimproved, but so to live as I 
shall wish I had done when I come to die. 

" I could spend the evening -in this exercise 
which I am fond of, writing to my dear parents, 
but will close with love to all friends, and kisses 
for my little sister." 

In April, 1817, at fifteen years of age, he 
continues his affectionate correspondence with 
his parents : — 

" Deab Father, — Opportunities to send to 
you of late have been very infrequent, and I 
can now find no one that is going ; but, as I 
have a little leisure, I write you a few lines. 
I have bought a few oranges, which I am wait- 
ing for an opportunity to send you. I am still 
reading Rollin's ' Ancient History,' and have 
nearly finished the fifth volume. I am now 
reading the Life of Alexander the Great, the 
conqueror of the East. In the first part of his 
life he was an excellent king. But, after having 
subdued Tyre, he had no bounds to his ambi- 
tion, vainly thinking every thing would bow to 



20 MEMORIALS OF 

him ; and was so foolish as to travel through 
sandy deserts, exposing his army to perish with 
heat and thirst, only that he might be called the 
4 Son of Jupiter Ammon,' causing sacrifices to 
be made to him as a god. But this may be in a 
measure accounted for, as he perhaps had never 
heard of the true God. 

" Please distribute the oranges as you think 
fit. 

" Give my love to all friends." 

"April 29. 

" My dear Mother, — As both this and the 
month of May are busy seasons with us, I do 
not think I shall be able to write very fre- 
quently till they are over. But be assured I 
do not forget any of you ; for my home and my 
friends, to whom I am bound by many tender 
ties, are much in my thoughts while I am pur- 
suing the ordinary business of life ; and I hope 
I shall not forget the kind instructions you 
gave, but keep them in memory, and practise 
them in my life. I find it very hard to resist 
temptations ; and my weak resolutions are soon 
broken, because I do not place enough confi- 
dence in the help of God. I earnestly hope I 
shall seek that better part, which can never be 
taken from me. I was sorry to hear that you 



CHARLES STODDARD. 21 

had been unwell, and hope that you will not 
exert yourself in your family till you are well. 
I have often thought with regret, how much 
unnecessary trouble I used to give yep ; and, if 
all my brothers do the same, it is enough to 
make you ill ; but I trust they do not. 

" Our minister, Mr. Channing, has been a 
journey of a month ; and on Sunday, after his 
return, he preached two sermons, in wliich I 
thought he tried to rouse his hearers' attention. 
He said c that he was astonished, that, for the 
number of years which he had been settled 
among them, he saw so little fruit.' 

" We expect to see the president to-morrow, 
when there will be a great parade. All the 
schoolboys in town, commanded by their re- 
spective masters, will form a procession. The 
bo'ys will be dressed in blue coats and white 
pantaloons. I shall hope to hear from home 
before a great while." 

The following is a reply of his mother, to a 
letter written at this time : — 

"My dear Child, — I have not written for 
quite a while, because I have been visited with 
pain in my eyes. I thank you for your frequent 
letters: they are a source of happiness to your 



22 MEMORIALS OF 

parents, as a proof of your affection, and an 
evidence that you improve your time. In some 
of your letters, you mention the trouble you 
caused in your early years ; but you have no 
reason for bitter reflections on this account. 
Your errors were the follies of childhood, and 
did not originate in any perversity of temper. 
However it may appear to you on review, we 
acquit you of all intention to wound us by 
your conduct. Indeed, your natural propensi- 
ties are amiable and benevolent. You have 
often been taught that neither the most estima- 
ble qualities of heart, nor the highest intellec- 
tual attainments, will ever constitute a good 
man ; neither will they yield that peace which 
the heart craves, and which the humble believer 
enjoys. 

" Let these considerations induce you to covet 
earnestly the best gifts. Though the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge is desirable and delightful, 
yet the heavenly wisdom ought to be more 
highly prized and more diligently sought. I 
love to think that you are walking in the truth. 
May God in his infinite mercy enable you to 
run the Christian race ! We anticipate a visit 
from you in the autumn. 

" Your affectionate mother, 
" S. S." 



CHARLES STODDARD. 23 

At this early period, only fifteen years of 
age, he had come to be much trusted in the 
business into which his uncle had introduced 
him. He was largely occupied during the day, 
and somewhat at evening. He, however, did 
not neglect his reading, which was accom- 
plished late in the evening. He also joined a 
French class, for which he prepared himself 
with study > and took up the higher branches 
of mathematics with an efficient teacher. 

In October he writes, u On Sunday last, dur- 
ing service, I felt a severe shock of an earth- 
quake, which lasted about ten seconds. It 
appeared that the motion of the meeting-house 
was like that of a ship riding at anchor. It 
was singular that not more than one-half of 
the people in our boarding-house felt it. At 
the Old South Church, the building shook in 
such a manner that all the people ran from 
their seats, and the minister paused in his 
sermon, it being about twenty minutes past 
eleven, a.m. At Cambridge, it was so severe, 
and the people left the meeting-house so sud- 
denly, that ladies were thrown down on the 
way out. The minister jumped over the side 
of the pulpit ; and people who could not easily 
open their pew-doors tore them off their hinges. 



24 MEMORIALS OF 

" You recollect, when I was in Portsmouth, 
there was an earthquake. And, having felt the 
shock, I immediately knew that this which hap- 
pened recently was one. There is in the feeling 
something which inspires awe and dread." 

An extract from a letter written the last of 
October will close the letters for this year : — 

" I do not think it is any great disadvantage 
to a young person to leave home early in life, 
provided he is placed in a situation where he 
will gain useful information, and something of 
a knowledge of the world. True, he will have 
to deny himself the enjoyments of the society 
of parents, brothers, and companions; be ex- 
posed to hardships which were unforeseen, as 
well as exposed to many temptations which it 
will be hard to resist without divine assistance : 
yet he has every encouragement to ask wisdom 
of God, who giveth liberally, and has a promise 
that c those who seek him early shall find 
him.' " 

During a part of 1817, he had written to his 
older and younger brothers. Indeed, from this 
time onward he interested himself in their 
welfare. In connection with his parents, he 



CHARLES STODDARD. 25 

planned for the future of the boys, so far as he 
could be of use; letting them, to whatever 
extent they desired, lean upon him. 

The letters which appear from time to time 
show how, from this period, he felt the respon- 
sibility of leading his brothers in the paths of 
wisdom in which he sought to walk. 

His standard of duty was so high, that he 
did not feel, as his friends did, that he had 
already begun to subject his will and all his 
powers to the service of his God. He speaks 
of his aunt and uncle uniting with the church, 
and quotes Mr. Channing as saying, "It is 
easy to profess ourselves the disciples of the 
meek and lowly Jesus without being so in 
reality; and the great thing is to answer, in 
ourselves, to the profession we make." He con- 
cludes, " I have thought on this subject lately, 
but should not dare approach the table of the 
Lord unprepared; but I trust my desire is to 
know and do the will of God." 

With such earnest views of life, and the 
sacredness of its obligations, it is not strange 
that the pastimes that would be amusement to 
many were tiresome and uninteresting to him. 

I remember his relating with a genial smile, 
when fifty years old, his first visit as a boy at 



26 MEMORIALS OF 

a circus. He wondered at the animals, and 
enjoyed the horses and riding; but when the 
clown appeared, and played his tricks, he was 
saddened, and, more inclined to cry than laugh, 
went home, convinced he could not find enter- 
tainment there*. Those who have a remem- 
brance of him when young say that he was 
not morbid nor gloomy, but was even then 
exhibiting the calmness and serenity that was 
so conspicuous in his ripened manhood. 

While he was thinking, and improving his 
mind, he was forming accurate business habits. 
He made it his pleasure to do every thing well, 
and felt an honest pride in showing himself 
capable of the duties assigned him. 

It was a satisfaction to him to dp as his sense 
of right approved, and he was not afraid of 
hard work, as what he did abundantly tes- 
tifies. These traits could not but inspire con- 
fidence in him in the minds of his employers, 
and the " Well done " of his own heart to 
encourage him. 

His letters, during 1818 and 1819, when he 
was sixteen and seventeen years old, indicate 
the direction in which his character was devel- 
oping. 

In October, 1818, he wrote to his brother 



CHARLES STODDARD. 27 

W., as follows : " I have been wishing, almost 
ever since I saw you, to write you, as I thought 
perhaps you might like advice. Remember 
that the present part of your life is the most 
important of all, as you are now forming habits 
which will abide with you through life. If 
those of idleness, you will find it hard hereafter 
to keep yourself employed. Youth is a season 
for learning : therefore I advise you to improve, 
not part, but all your time, in a manner that 
you may reflect on it with pleasure. How im- 
portant, being older, that you set your brothers 
a good example ! Perhaps you will say that it 
is natural for a young person to be fond of 
play and amusement. To this I answer that it 
is natural, and should be permitted when the 
amusement leads to no bad consequences. Love 
play, but love your book more ; and try, by 
attention, to understand and retain what you 
learn. Your parents have done much for you, 
and have a right to expect much in return. 
Thus I have put before you what you cannot 
but know is your duty. And I hope you will 
not impute what I have written to unworthy 
motives, because it springs from a love to you, 
and a desire for your happiness, and that of 
those around you. Will you write soon and 
often to your affectionate brother?" 



28 MEMORIALS OF 

To his parents he writes, June, 1818 : " This 
day completes my sixteenth j^ear; and I ask 
myself, how the time that God has given me. 
has been employed ? Examining myself by the 
command of God to love and serve him, I have 
abundant cause for. repentance, and, in the lan- 
guage of the publican, to cry, ' God be merciful 
to me, a sinner ! ' " 

And again, Dec. 13, of the same year : — 

" We are almost brought to the close of 
another year ; and God's goodness to us all is 
apparent, not only in sparing our lives, but giv- 
ing us friends ; for ' without a friend the world 
is but a wilderness.' Most of all, the goodness 
of God is evident in continuing to us the means 
of grace, giving us reason to believe that ' he is 
slow to anger, and abundant in goodness.' I 
suppose every year, that increases our knowl- 
edge, increases our accountability. Therefore, 
if we do not live up to our knowledge, we 
wander grievously in the wrong way. 

" I love you all most truly at home ; and, 
having less business to occupy my thoughts, 
they are oftener turned on home and friends. 
It is a remarkable fact, that the followers of 
no faith are ashamed of their religion, except 



CHARLES STODDARD. 29 

Christians. The followers of Mahomet delight 
to avow their belief in that religion ; and even 
the Indian of our forests, when he has been 
successful in hunting, stops, and in the open 
air returns thanks to the Great Spirit. The 
same may be said of the native of Hindostan, 
who, so far from being ashamed of his idol, 
counts it his glory to sacrifice his children, and 
even his life, to his religion. And yet how 
wonderful is it that Christians are ashamed to 
profess a religion which they know to be true, 
when their future happiness depends on follow- 
ing its plain requirements ! It is easy enough 
to reason, but difficult to practise." 

My father did not begin his life in Boston 
quite alone ; for two brothers of his mother, 
besides the one with whom he was connected 
in business, resided in the city. A loved aunt, 
the wife of Rev. Dr. Pierce of Brookline, lived 
in that town. These relatives invited the 
favorite nephew often to their houses. With 
his uncle John Tappan, began, in early life, a 
tie of affection almost equal to that which exists 
between father and son, which continued, with 
mutual trust and sympathy, for sixty years, til] 
the uncle, at an advanced age, went to his rest. 

3* 



30 MEMORIALS OF 

The cheerful temper of my father made him 
a cherished companion ; his large charity for 
others and strict watch of himself make his let- 
ters, even at the age of seventeen, instructive. 
The paper, grown yellow with the many years, 
is written with perfectly formed characters. 
No erasure, no blot, spoils the neat page. This 
indicates the beginning of that habit of method 
and care which made it easy for him, in maturer 
life, to accomplish an extraordinary amount of 
work in a finished manner. 

It is impossible to give all the letters; and 
many are omitted which are full of helpful 
plans for his brothers, or of commissions exe- 
cuted for his parents and friends, who found 
their wishes punctually and faithfully carried 
out by him. 

One of his young brothers came to Bos- 
ton in the year 1819, and was placed under the 
charge of my father, who felt in a measure 
toward him the responsibility of a parent.. 
Concerning him he writes, " I have not been 
idle since L. has been here, but have taken him 
to see almost all the curiosities, natural and 
artificial, that this town affords." He also says, 
" I am attending a course of lectures by a 
Mr. Emerson, on astronomy, to which Uncle 



CHARLES STODDARD. 31 

J. gave me tickets. I have never studied as- 
tronomy before, and now feel surprised that 
I never had more curiosity about this science. 
I cannot walk out, a star-light evening, without 
gazing at these heavenly lamps, and do not 
take enough heed to my steps, for I frequently 
find myself in a puddle of water before I am 
aware of it. I think I have some idea of the 
order in which the planets move around the 
common centre of gravity. I am interested in 
all he says, and think this study, thus finding 
out the wondrous works of God, a most sublime 
one. 

" Religion seems to be, in this place, rather a 
lifeless form than an operative principle. How- 
ever, I was glad to see, about a month ago, a 
society formed, which, in this short time, has 
increased to more than three hundred. It is to 
consist of young men exclusively, and is to be 
auxiliary to the American Society for the Edu- 
cation of Young Men for the Ministry. I put 
my name down, and have had some success in 
obtaining members." 

In March, 1819, he writes : — 

"My dear Mother, — I find that Boston 
is a busy place, and that the duties of my 



32 MEMORIALS OF 

station demand almost my whole time during 
the day, and not infrequently in the evening. 
However, I am fond of work, and think the 
mind is better off when we are active. I have 
much to be grateful for, and am generally con- 
tent and happy in my present situation. Par- 
ticularly ought I to be grateful to uncle and 
aunt, for the kind manner in which they have 
treated me. Some things, however, are un- 
pleasant to me. One is, that I do not like Mr. 
Channing so well as some other preachers. 
His sermons are indeed very excellent, and we 
should be much better people than we are, 
if we practised all that he advises ; but still 
I think there are preachers from whom I might 
derive more spiritual advantage than from hear- 
ing him. I have often conversed with you 
on this subject, and have as often concluded that 
it was better to still continue to hear him, and 
have only written the above to show you how 
I felt on the subject." 

After a visit home, in September, 1818, he 
writes : — 

"My dear Parents, — When I left you 
on Sunday evening, my feelings Avere such as 
I cannot describe, though I endeavored to sup- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 33 

press them. I had a desire to stay, and a wish 
to go, and though the latter was not the most 
prevalent feeling, still, knowing that I followed 
my duty in leaving, I was somewhat consoled. 
I felt that besides bidding my dearest friends 
farewell, I was quitting many religious privi- 
leges, which I trust I highly valued, which I 
could not here enjoy, and the deprivation of 
all these blessings at once caused some of the 
feelings of which I speak. 

" After leaving you, although I ' went off in 
style,' I had a solitary ride to Belchertown, and 
an ample season for contemplation. The next 
morning at six after breakfast I started and 
rode alone to Framingham. At that place, a 
Boston gentleman joined me ; and we took a 
chaise, and arrived at this place at half-past 
eight, P.M. You have doubtless heard of the 
calamity to the Old South Church, in the death 
of Rev. Mr. Huntington ; it seems to have 
much affected the people here, particularly 
those belonging to his church and society. 

" Remember me affectionately to all friends, 
grandparents, brothers, and sister ; and kiss 
dear little David for one whom I trust he has 
not forgotten already." 



34 MEMORIALS OF 

The letters which he constantly - wrote' to 
absent brothers have some of them been de- 
stroyed ; but their general drift can well be 
determined by those that are left. 

In November, 1819, he writes : — 

"Dear Brotheb W., — Since I left I have 
often thought of you all, but my thoughts 
have sometimes been confined to you alone. 
You will like to know why I was particularly 
mindful of you. It is because I felt that very 
much depended, in your future life, on the 
manner in which you spend your present time. 
I have been much at a loss to know how you 
would employ yourself the coming winter. 
Under these circumstances I received father's 
letter, which informed me that Uncle Phoenix 
had condescended to become your instructor ; 
and now I wish you not only to feel gratitude 
for his kindness, but a sense of the advantages 
you may derive, if you rightly improve them. 
In Uncle you have united the care of an in- 
structor with the feelings of a friend ; and I 
cannot but hope that you will make such prog- 
ress that he will not think his labor has been 
in vain. 

"As I have told you, we copy from each 



CHARLES STODDARD 35 

other, and this is peculiarly observable in chil- 
dren ; what they see those older, whom they 
justly think know more, do, they are apt to 
copy, be it bad or good : so you will see the 
importance of behaving before them in an un- 
exceptionable manner. 

" We had a dreadful fire on Saturday even- 
ing ; three very long rope-walks, with all their 
stock, burnt. Had it not been for the exertions 
of the citizens, the State Arsenal and buildings 
in the neighborhood must have been consumed. 
There is no doubt this is the work of a villain ; 
but who, nobody can tell. 

" I wish you would write me soon." 

The same year he writes again : — 

" Dear Brother W., — You know, I sup- 
pose, that this day is celebrated by many Chris- 
tians, particularly those who hold the form of 
worship of the Established Church of England, 
as tiie birthday of our Saviour. People here 
are at a loss whether to set the day apart for 
religious services, so that some places of busi- 
ness are open, others shut. The latter is the 
case with ours, so I have concluded to spend 
a part of the day writing to you. You wish to 
ask my advice respecting an employment which 



36 MEMORIALS OF 

you will probably pursue in future life ; and 
though I feel entirely incompetent to advise 
you, yet I may suggest ideas which will not be 
familiar to yon. It is an opinion that prevails 
among the unlearned, and frequently among 
those who consider themselves more enlight- 
ened, that a man's occupation decides his char- 
acter ; or, rather that a man should be looked 
upon and taken notice of according to the 
business or profession he pursues. Now I think 
this idea is false ; for any employment which 
Providence assigns us, and which may be pur- 
sued honestly without interfering with things 
of a more important nature, is an honorable 
one, and worthy of our attention. We may 
make any employment pleasant, if we have 
but this one requisite, a contented mind, and 
without this the most elevated station and 
honorable calling will be tasteless and in- 
sipid. 

" As a motive to this frame of mind, we 
should consider how much more we have than 
we really want, and how much more unhappy 
we might be than we are. Reflections like 
these will have a powerful tendency to make 
us contented in the lot which Heaven assigns 
us. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 37 

' Fixed to no spot is happiness sincere : 
'Tis nowhere to be found, or everywhere; 
'Tis never to be bought, but always free ; 
And fled from others, " broth er," dwells with +hee.' 

" I have often thought the business of a farmer 
gives present enjoyment, though I may be mis- 
taken, for I have never made the experiment. 
There are so many mechanical occupations that 
I know not which I should prefer, and am 
therefore unfit to advise you on the subject, 
and father will probably have something in 
his own mind to suggest to you before spring." 

In December, in writing to his parents, he 



" I dined at home, after hearing the cele- 
brated Mr. Everett, who was, five years since, 
a minister at Brattle Square, and was after- 
wards chosen one of the professors at Cam- 
bridge. He has been to England and Germany 
for the completion of his education, and just 
returned home, and resumed his professorship. 
His appearance reminds me of engravings of 
English divines, and there was* an expression 
in his countenance similar to that in Spencer's 
portrait. . . . 

" I cannot think that I am deceiving myself 

4 



38 MEMORIALS OF 

in feeling that my attachment ' to things seen 
and temporal ' is less than it once was, but I 
do know that it is not so fixed on things eter- 
nal as my duty and God's goodness to me 
demand. 

" From the earliest period of my life, when 
my mind was capable of understanding any 
thing, you, my dear mother, taught me to 

< Read and revere the sacred page ; ' 

and though, at that time, I frequently con- 
sidered this employment a task rather than a 
pleasure, yet I cannot but be grateful to you 
that I was made acquainted in childhood with 
those ' treasures of wisdom and knowledge,' 
which are able to make us wise unto salvation. 
I pray God that I may make them my daily 
study and the guide of my life. 

" I spent Sabbath evening at Brookline, hear- 
ing sacred music, and nothing could afford me 
greater enjoyment. Not that I sing. I wish 
I did, but perhaps at some future time I may 
have a better voice. I might write much more, 
but will close with love, and assurance that a 
letter from you would much gratify 

" Your affectionate Son. 7 ' 



II. 

CHARACTER UNFOLDED. 

18204821. 

fHMHE letters of 1820 are numerous, and con- 
-L tinue the narrative of my father's life from 
the age of eighteen years. From these letters 
selection is difficult. 

There are numbers of letters advising with 
his parents about plans for the other children ; 
their welfare and their success being very near 
to his heart. He takes an interest in public 
affairs, and has an opinion on important events, 
showing some thought concerning affairs of 
government. 

The Puritan fast day at this time seems to 
have had much influence over the people of 
Boston ; for my father writes April 6 : — 

" This is Fast Day ; and here it is observed 
in a manner which reflects honor on the inhabit- 
ants. It is as still in the street as it is on the 
sabbath; and the churches are generally well 
filled. As a State and a nation I think we have 

39 



40 MEMORIALS OF 

abundant cause for humbling ourselves before 
that God whom we have deeply offended. The 
late decision of Congress on the subject of 
slavery plainly evinces that there is a radical 
difference in the feelings of the different States. 
The wrongs of the slaves cry to Heaven, and, I 
fear, ere long will draw down vengeance on our 
devoted country." With regard to a brother 
in Yale College, whose health had been delicate, 
he writes: "As he has a long vacation this 
summer, it might be convenient for him to visit 
Boston, at the time of Cambridge commence- 
ment. I shall be happy to see him, and do 
what I can for him." 

Unfortunately the letters of my father to this 
brother in college have been lost. From a 
reply to one of them, however, we can infer the 
seriousness of his appeal, — an appeal from a 
younger to an older brother, on a subject he 
deemed all important. After alluding to his 
course of study and his health, he says to my 
father, " I must not fail to refer to your affec- 
tionate and faithful remarks on the subject of 
my prospects for another life. Would that I 
could answer to myself and to you, so as to 
give good ground to my friends for believing 
that I am an heir to a glorious immortality ! 



CHARLES STODDARD. 41 

You hope that your prayers are heard. Cease 
not, then, to mention in them your affectionate 
brother." 

These prayers were heard and answered in 
the decided Christian life of this beloved broth- 
er. Solomon, it may be added, was an enthusi- 
ast in study, and compiled with Mr. Andrews 
the Latin grammar connected with their names. 
The winter he was at work on the grammar, he 
was also a member of the Massachusetts legis- 
lature, and was with my father for the season. 
So engrossed was he in his study that even at 
night his brain was active. One night he waked 
those in a neighboring room with a spring from 
his bed, and a shout of joy, " I've found it, I've 
found it ! " meaning a Latin root, that, in some 
process of unconscious cerebration, had been 
revealed to him, causing this delight. 

These studies were, however, pursued under 
difficulties, as an injury received during his first 
year in college made his life a struggle with 
pain. This he manfully overcame in a large 
measure, and accomplished much for his age 
and generation. He was a professor in Middle- 
bury College, and exerted a happy Christian 
influence over the young men under his charge. 

4* 



42 MEMORIALS OF 

The correspondence with his parents is re- 
sumed when my father rejoices in the coming 
spring of 1820: — 

" I have had a glimpse of the spring in a visit 
to Brookline. I think I never saw the country 
in more delightful attire. The trees are loaded 
with blossoms, and the flowers with all their 
varying colors scattered over the fields and 
filling the air with most delicious fragrance 
awaken thoughts of the greatness of that Being 
who causes the springing of a blade of grass, 
and with equal care upholds and keeps in order 
the " dark terrestrial ball " on which it grows. 
In my intercourse with society I find little to 
keep alive a spiritual frame of mind. It is 
often asked, why it is that persons professing 
godliness are not more anxious to point out to 
others the path which leads to peace and happi- 
ness. I think the reason is obvious to those 
who know any thing of themselves. We are 
naturally diffident in speaking of a subject into 
the spirit of which others cannot enter, and a 
fear of intruding upon others is another reason 
why we suffer ourselves to be silent on affairs 
of so much moment. I have seen persons of a 
different cast. I have seen those who were 



CHARLES STODDARD. 43 

continually talking with any one, no matter 
who, upon abstruse points in theology, with a 
confidence savoring of arrogance and party 
views. Now this class of persons I hold to be 
not a whit more useful to those with whom 
they hold intercourse, than those whose diffi- 
dence restrains them from expressing their 
opinion at all. I am rather inclined to think 
they injure the cause which they attempt to 
advance." 

In October he writes to his father : — 

" Selfishness, as well as ' public good,' would 
tend to make me regret that you were not 
chosen to the convention which is soon to 
assemble, as now I cannot hope to see you 
here unless you are called on important busi- 
ness. The choice of delegates is generally 
considered judicious, and you will observe that 
though Judge Parker is censured for expressing 
his opinion, and his sentiments reprobated, yet 
he is chosen a member of the convention. A 
single voice, to be sure, can effect but little ; 
but, if a few members have the interests of the 
State at heart, their opinion will not be lightly 
condemned. 

At the Old South Church they have a 



44 MEMORIALS OF 

candidate preaching from New Jersey, named 
Wisner, who, I understand, is largely approved 
of. I have gone to the ' Old South ' generally 
since my last visit in Northampton, and think 1 
shall continue to attend there in future. 

" I have felt an uncommon solicitude in this 
revision of the Constitution [of Massachusetts] 
now going on, and contemplate the doings of 
the body in the light of something which may 
materially affect the happiness and prosperity 
of future generations. The venerable President 
Adams, I have not yet seen. His presence 
attracts so many people, that it is hardly possi- 
ble to obtain admittance to the galleries of the 
State House. 

" The 22d of December will be, celebrated in 
Plymouth, in a splendid manner. Mr. Webster 
is appointed to deliver an address, and many 
people from this town will be present. The event 
which this anniversary commemorates is one 
which every New-Englander should look upon 
with deep interest; with feelings of joy, and 
gratitude to God, who has preserved to us those 
civil and religious privileges for the enjoyment 
of which our pious ancestors endured so many 
hardships with so much cheerfulness. One 
would not be apt to think the late proceedings 



CHARLES STODDARD. 45 

of our convention had any tendency to prove 
how highly we prize the rights and blessings 
that .cost the lives and comfort of so many 
individuals. I refer particularly to the ' Bill 
of Rights,' and the provision for the support of 
public worship. The proceedings are, as you 
say, tediously spun out. 

" Give my love to all members of the family. 
Your frequent letters are a source of pleasure." 

In the letter just given, he mentions to his 
father that he had " gone to the Old South " 
since he last wrote. He had been slow in mak- 
ing any change, and his relatives still contin- 
ued under the ministry of Dr. Channing. The 
sermon that finally led him to feel that he per- 
haps could profit more elsewhere, was from the 
text, " The heart is deceitful above all things, 
and desperately wicked" (Jer. xvii. 9). The 
arguments adduced were those extenuating 
man's sin, rather disproving as he thought than 
enforcing the text. From his childhood his 
sense of the evil of sin seems to have been 
great, and in his latest years a sermon on this 
subject would stir his deepest feelings. The 
purity of holiness made sin abhorrent to him. 
I remember, as a child, if I showed timidity 



46 MEMORIALS OF 

his remark was, " My dear, be afraid of nothing 
but sin." 

In December, 1820, lie writes to his brother 
W. a characteristic letter : — 

" Dear Brother W., — Since this week 
began, I have written to all the brothers: to 

L on a missionary subject ; to J on the 

division of time into years, months, and weeks ; 

to A a satire on our convention ; to sister, 

to father and mother, and now to you. You 
will, I presume, be ready to conclude that my 
intellectual faculties are exhausted; but I do 
not feel any want, and have sufficient material, 
though not sufficient time, to make my letter 
tediously long. 

" ; What is worth doing at all is worth doing 
well.' Though many people say this, the cases 
are rare where it is acted up to. But it would 
be for your interest if you would be guided 
in your actions by some such rule as this, 
and resolve that whatever is worthy of being 
your pursuit at all, is worthy of being your 
chief concern while you attend to it. We often 
complain of the badness of our memories, and 
think we merit something for the confession. 
But the truth is, we make our memories poor 



CHARLES STODDARD. 47 

by inattention. Did you never detect yourself, 
when reading a book which but little interested 
you, reading a whole page without remembering 
one word which you had perused ? Your read- 
ing was mechanical. But suppose a letter was 
handed you which stated that a deceased rela- 
tive had left you a thousand dollars : do you 
think you would read the letter, and not be able 
to tell what the contents were? I trow not. 
This habit of inattention prevents us from 
doing well what we begin, and is the cause why 
our memories are not more retentive. You 
have written twenty-two letters to me, and I 
should be glad to receive the twenty-third 
soon." 

In ,writing again to the same brother, he 
speaks of an older brother, whose studies had 
v been interrupted by headache, and want of 
vigor. He says, " If I were his physician, I 
should lay down certain rules, and expect him 
to practise them. My advice would be some- 
thing like this : — 

" 1st, That he should purchase a stiff brush, 
and apply it every morning, before sunrise (after 
the sun is up will not answer), to every part of 
his body. I see him cringe at the idea. What 



48 MEMORIALS OF 

would he do when he came to practise such a 
course ? 

" 2d, As soon as the weather will admit he 
should make use of a shower-bath, situated not 
less than half a mile from his present residence, 
which bath should be taken before the sun 
appears above the horizon. He would then, I 
think, have some appetite for breakfast. 

" 3d, After eating breakfast he should adjourn 
to the woodhouse, and try the efficacy of the axe 
on some knotty logs ; and, when tired with that, 
take a saw and apply it to a certain number of 
sticks, the number to be increased by one daily. 

" 4th, It would now be ' school-time, and I 
think he would not suffer so much from the con- 
finement and wear of teaching. I would also 
recommend a walk, in the course of the day, of 
two or three miles. 

"I find that seven hours' sleep is as much as 
I need ; and, when I arise when I first wake, I 
feel brighter than if I waste time in getting 
thoroughly aroused. You perhaps recollect Dr. 
Franklin's anecdote, and the manner in which he 
proposed to save candles by using the morning, 
and deriving light from the Great Candle, 
which gives us light without any expense, rather 
than sleep away the hours after he shines, and 
use artificial light. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 49 

" I have been twice called out to do military 
duty tliis season. One of the times, I was out 
all day, marched out of town, and fired at a 
target. We are obliged to turn out here, or pay 
three dollars fine every year ; and, as I cannot 
well afford to pay the sum, I generally prefer to 
appear." 

To his father the same year (eighteen years 
of age), he says, "It was with pleasure I 
learned this morning that you were appointed 
clerk of the court in Hampshire County. I 
regret that you can no longer preside in the 
court of sessions, because the public will be 
deprived of your services. But this office is 
permanent and very desirable, and I am glad 
that the decision is made in your favor. I feel 
a deep interest in every thing conducive to the 
happiness of my parents ; and it is a pleasant 
thing, while separated, that we can address our 
prayers to the same gracious Being from whom 
all blessings flow. Time will not permit me 
to express half I feel. Love to all." 

Here follows a letter to his mother, written a 
year later, October, 1821. After his usual 
messages of affection, thoughtful aid in matters 

5 



50 MEMORIALS OF 

in which he could be of comfort or help, he 
writes minutely about himself. 

"You are aware that the idea of making a 
profession of religion has for some time been 
uppermost in my mind, and that I have deter- 
mined that it is my duty to join the visible 
church of Christ, and publicly enlist under his 
banner who is the Captain of my salvation. I 
have conversed with Mr. Wisner on the sub- 
ject, and with my uncle, and obtained the appro- 
bation of both ; to which I wish to add that of 
my dear parents before I engage in this solemn 
act, and publicly renounce the world and all 
dependence upon it, and conformity to its ways. 

" I trust that I feel that it is a most solemn 
act by which a sinner professes, in the pres- 
ence of angels and men, his faith in a Saviour ; 
by which he renounces every other hope of 
salvation, and gives himself up to Christ, taking 
his yoke upon him, and trusting in his merits 
alone for justification, and adoption into the 
family of God. 

" I ask an interest, my dear mother, in your 
prayers, that in the sincerity of my heart I 
may make this dedication. I have long been 
exercised with doubts respecting the reality of 



CHARLES STODDARD. 51 

my religion; and if the promises were not 
complete in their extent, if my Saviour were 
not an almighty Saviour, I could have no hope, 
nor any ground of dependence. I can say with 
Newton, c I should have been sometimes ready 
to have given up all hope, but for two texts : 
" Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise 
cast out ; " and the apostle's assertion that " He 
is able to save to the uttermost." ' 

" By professing Christ before men, I am sen- 
sible that more circumspection in my whole 
conduct will be necessary, and, if I had only 
myself to trust to, I should have reason to fear 
that I should fail. But He who can be touched 
with all the infirmities of his disciples has 
invited me to trust in him; and I know, that, 
if I do commit my way unto him, he will 
direct my path." 

After writing this, in another letter marked 
" Confidential," in which he refers to his reli- 
gious experiences, he speaks of his public pro- 
fession of religion. It is easy to see that he 
had come gradually to a firm and settled Chris- 
tian faith, though the germ of this vital power 
seems to have been planted from his early 
vears. When he came before the world as 



52 MEMORIALS OF 

one who founded all his hopes in the cross of 
Christ, he writes : — 

" In making this public profession of my 
faith, I experienced such a peace as I never 
felt before. The service of God seemed a rea- 
sonable service, and I was more than ever 
determined to press forward. Since that day, 
Nov. 18, 1821, I have been permitted twice to 
commemorate the dying love of our glorified 
Redeemer, and at both these seasons, I do 
believe I have been favored with his gracious 
presence. 

" By making this profession, I have taken a 
decided stand, and, though I am but an ob- 
scure individual, yet, there being few of my 
standing who make such great professions, I 
shall be conspicuous. And, if all who name 
the name of Christ should be watchful, much 
more should I, if I would worthily walk in 
the fear of God. 

"You will be desirous of knowing how I 
feel towards Mr. Wisner. I can assure you my 
greatest expectations are more than realized. 
I love the man." 

The influence this pastor was able to exert 
on my father, and the warm Christian friend- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 53 

ship, appeared often in the years in which they 
were associated. It may be interesting to quotfi 
a letter from his mother at this period, giving a 
hint of the sympathy with which his steps in 
the Christian course were always met* The 
paper is old and yellow; the ink so pale and 
faded that it is difficult to read, but the true 
mother's heart glows in the words, and warms 
anew our own hearts as we read. 

" My dear Child, — I shall not attempt to 
portray the feelings the contents of your last 
letter excited. To that gracious Being who 
has drawn you, as I -trust, with the cords of 
love to himself, the homage of my grateful 
heart is due for this renewed instance of his 
kindness to me. 

"I have long indulged a hope that the 
Saviour's love had constrained you to be his, 
and that you had given up yourself to him in 
an everlasting covenant. By your resolve to 
make a public profession of religion, and unite 
yourself to his visible Church, the desire of my 
heart is fulfilled. To his care } commend you, 
who is able to keep you by his mighty power, 
through faith unto salvation. 

" It is indeed ' a great thing to be a Christian,' 



54 MEMORIALS OF 

— a perpetual warfare ; but we need not be dis- 
mayed, for our Captain is almighty. He will 
sustain us in every trial, enable us to surmount 
affliction, extricate us in perplexity, and secure 
us in danger. He is a very present help in 
trouble, a refuge for all who trust in him. It 
is delightful to me to think of the Saviour in 
his character of shepherd, extending his care 
to every individual of the flock, and permitting 
all to say, ' Hide me beneath thy spreading 
wings.' O Charles ! I could write much on 
this subject, but am obliged abruptly to close." 

The solemnity of this consecration was made 
more binding by a written covenant with his 
God, — a covenant known to no living person. 
It was found, after his death, in the pocket-book 
which he carried constantly with him on his 
person. He had made renewals of its vows 
once in every five years, as short notes in his 
handwriting show. It reads as follows : — 

" Eternal and ever-blessed Jehovah, I desire 
to present myself before thee with the deepest 
humiliation of soul, sensible how unworthy such 
a sinful creature as I am is to appear before the 
holy majesty of heaven, and especially on such 
an occasion as this ; even to enter into a cove- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 55 

nant transaction with thee. But the scheme 
and plan is thine own. Thine infinite conde- 
scension hath offered it by thy Son; and thy 
grace hath, I trust, inclined my heart to accept 
it. I come, therefore, acknowledging myself 
to have been a great offender ; smiting on my 
breast, and saying with the humble publican, 
4 God be merciful to me a sinner ! ' I come in- 
vited by the name of thy Son, and wholly 
trusting in his perfect righteousness; entreat- 
ing that for his sake thou wilt forgive my 
iniquity, and remember my sins no more. 
Receive, I beseech thee, thy revolted creature, 
who is now convinced of thy perfect right to 
him, and who desires nothing so much as that 
he may be thine. This day do I, with the 
utmost solemnity, surrender myself to thee. 
I renounce all my former lords that have had 
dominion over me, and I consecrate to thee all 
that I am and all that I have ; the faculties of 
my mind, the members of my body, my time, 
my talents, and what little influence I may 
possess over others ; to be all used entirely for 
thy giory, and resolutely employed in obedience 
to thy commands, as long as thou continuest 
me in life, with an ardent desire to continue 
thine through the endless ages of eternity. To 



56 MEMORIALS OF 

thy direction also, I resign all that I am and 
have, to be disposed of by thee in such a 
manner as thou shalt, in thine infinite wisdom, 
judge most subservient to the purposes of thy 
glory. To thee I leave the management of all 
events, and pray thee ever to enable me to say, 
6 Not my will, but thine, be done,' rejoicing in 
thine unlimited government, as what ought to 
be the delight of the whole rational creation. 
Use me, O Lord, I beseech thee, as an instru- 
ment in thy service. Number me among thy 
peculiar people. Let me be washed in the 
blood of thy dear Son. Let me be clothed 
with his righteousness. Let me be sanctified 
by thy Holy Spirit. Transform me more and 
more into thine image. Impart to me, through 
Jesus Christ, all needful aids and influences of 
thy grace ; and let my life-be spent in the light 
of thy countenance, as my Father and my God : 
that thus I may c grow in grace, and in the 
knowledge of God my Saviour,' and daily 
become more and more fit for thy immediate 
presence in thy kingdom above. And when 
the solemn hour of death arrives, wherever I 
am, and under whatever circumstances I may 
then be placed, may I remember this my dedi- 
cation to thee as all my salvation and all my 



CHARLES STODDARD. SI 

desire, though every other hope and enjoyment 
is perishing. Look down with pitv on thy 
dying child; embrace me in thy everlasting 
arms ; put strength and confidence into my 
departing spirit ; and receive it into the abodes 
of them who sleep in Jesus, to wait the accom- 
plishment of thy great promise to all thy chil- 
dren, even that of a glorious resurrection, and 
of eternal happiness in thy heavenly kingdom." 

The profession thus made was a sincere one ; 
and from this date, although my father kept 
no journal, thoughts are from time to time put 
down on Sabbath days for his future help and 
warning. 

He made out a list of maxims to help him 
avoid temptations to which he felt himself 
exposed. Some of them are : — 

1st, " Do not make older Christians your 
standard. Only the Master is worthy of fol- 
lowing." 

2d, "Desire only such amusements as those 
on which you can ask God's blessing." 

3d, " Do not make a mistake about your 
temper, as some religious people do, who think 
they need not apply religion to control their 
temper." 



58 MEMORIALS OF 

4th, " Do not think yourself better than 
others : a black person, if a Christian, is your 
brother." " Wherewith shall a young man 
cleanse his way but by taking heed thereto ? " 

"I am setting out," he wrote in one of his 
Sabbath meditations, "on the career of life, 
and like others, too prone to conclude from the 
calm sunshine which surrounds me, that the 
clouds will never obscure the light and the tem- 
pest never rise around me ; that I shall always 
steer clear of the rocks and shoals on which 
many have made shipwreck. Perhaps I think 
my virtue established, and that it will never 
be destroyed. I now shudder, perhaps, at the 
thought of committing wickedness, and am 
ready to say with Hazael, ' Is thy servant a 
dog, that he should do this thing ? ' All young 
persons have formed at some time resolutions 
of living above the common mass of mankind, 
but, making these resolutions trusting in them- 
selves, they have often become ruined for a 
time, if not forever, by the temptations of the 
world. Perhaps the reason that so many youth 
are misled is that they lack experience. St. 
Paul calls the Christian life a warfare ; and the 
follower of Jesus finds that he must wage war 
with his natural inclinations, resisting flatteries, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 59 

and the evil dispositions of his own heart. Oh, 
may not the world's allurements entice my feet 
from the narrow paths of virtue ! and, while I 
am professing to seek for immortality, oh may 
I not pursue earthly pleasures, but lay up treas- 
ures in heaven, for then I shall be truly rich ! " 
In speaking of Cowper, he says, " As a 
writer of poetry he is my favorite. The appro- 
priateness and delicacy of his language, and the 
purity and variety of his subject, make his 
poems delightful. I have committed much tc 
memory, and repeated it again and again with- 
out diminution of pleasure." Remembrance 
brings vividly the hours when, sitting by his 
side, I have felt the sympathetic glow of pleas- 
ure as my father repeated loved passages from 
the " Task," the " Sofa," the description of the 
" Walk to Emmaus," and other selections from 
these poems. It may be imagined that the 
view my father held of life and its duties was 
so serious, that he was severe and stern. That 
he was not so, all who knew him will assert. 
He could enjoy " John Gilpin" with all his 
heart. Indeed, he himself had an inexhaustible 
fountain of humor which bubbled over in daily 
life, but which was made to keep its own place. 
His cheerful Christian faith too lent a charm to 



60 MEMORIALS OF 

his manners, while his loving genial disposition 
made him carry about with him a hidden spring 
of joy that could but inspire one in his presence 
even while so young a man. This is an impor- 
tant and marked period in his life. His purpose 
was single from this time, his faith was settled, 
and his hope steady ; his path, a light " shin- 
ing brighter and brighter to the perfect day." 
He made it his constant habit from this time to 
note the text, and often the heads, of the ser- 
mons he heard. Sometimes quite full abstracts 
are given. He also showed greater interest in 
the Sabbath school. 

I have received, from a friend with whom he 
was associated in Sabbath-school work, a num- 
ber of letters written by my father, who kept 
up his interest after that friend left the city, in 
which he gives his personal experience as 
teacher, and afterwards as superintendent. The 
first letter is written at this period. Referring to 
young people's meetings for prayer, he dwells 
on the strength, in any good purpose, which 
comes from habit ; and, applying it to this sub- 
ject, he says, "I presume that the first time 
any person (however pious) attempts, in the 
company of others, to lead in devotion, his feel- 
ings are exceedingly tried. Some find this duty 



CHARLES STODDARD. 61 

more easy than others, but I believe all find it 
difficult at first. Practice, you know, soon 
enables a person who professes devotional feel- 
ings to have his thoughts collected, and his 
heart elevated in this duty." In another 
written shortly after, he says, " The present 
state of Christian society, it seems to me, differs 
materially from any former state ; inasmuch as 
there has never been a time, since the days of 
the apostles, when it was more necessary than 
now for all who have espoused the cause of 
Immanuel, and openly professed his name, to 
act in a bold, courageous, and decided manner, 
without reference to the opinions of the world, 
endeavoring to promote his glory and the good 
of men, not merely by lending their pecuniary 
assistance, but their influence and personal 
exertions, by making sacrifices, and rejoicing, if 
called to do so, to suffer shame for the name of 
Jesus. And, though the broad line of distinc- 
tion is clearly marked between the children of 
God and the men of the world, yet how many, 
who make the highest professions, live con- 
formed to the world ! Our engagements, when we 
enlisted under our Captain, demand a different 
course ; for we ought so to manifest the spirit of 
our divine Master in our life, that strangers 

6 



62 MEMORIALS OF 

may be constrained to take knowledge of us, 
that we have been with Jesus. I am fully 
aware that it is easier to find fault with one's 
self than actually to pursue the right course ; 
but never shall we regret any service or sacri- 
fice for Christ, and never will such service lose 
its reward." 

In the postscript to this letter, he sends to 
his friend living in Virginia a commission: 
" If it is not asking too much, will you send to 
my care some excellent c Old Virginia ' ? Do 
not be alarmed, I never took a smoke of tobac- 
co, and never shall, such is my dislike to the 
article. But all do not think alike, and it is 
for some one elge I want this." 

My father never pointed the way where he 
was not willing to follow. When he wrote 
about " suffering shame for the name of Christ," 
they were not idle words. I have heard him 
tell how, in the days of his early Sabbath-school 
work, — a teacher in the Fort Hill School, — 
he took his large class of unkempt boys to the 
Old South meeting-house, there were acquaint- 
ances, and even relatives, who frowned on him. 
Others, of less kindly disposition, showed a 
more marked hostility by sneering words. They 
were indignant that " those ragged fellows 



CHARLES STODDARD. 63 

should take room on the walk." Some would 
even elbow him from the pavement. When he 
told these facts, no hostile feeling was manifest 
towards any one associated with the incidents 
of these early times, but he was contrasting 
Sabbath-school work in 1820 with the same 
thing in 1860. He kept no regular diary, but 
wrote occasionally, as on fast days, birthdays, 
and anniversary days, some confessions and 
resolutions for future help in his life. , The 
last day of the year was one of solemn revision 
of its preceding days, and joyful thanks for its 
mercies. One of his expressions which 1 find 
is, "What shall I render to the Lord for all 
his benefits? Ah! a grateful heart is all that 
he requires; gratitude manifested by devoted- 
ness to his service. And shall I not render 
this? By his grace I will." 

He usually carried with him a verse, selected 
in the morning, to his place of business, to 
dwell upon in his unoccupied moments. This 
was written out to be a guide and strength to 
him in his daily duties, and he sought to live 
up io his knowledge of duty. Confucius tells 
his disciples, that " Heaven is principle." If 
the heathen sage had learned this truth, how 
surely would the peace of heaven come to him 



64 MEMORIALS OF 

who regulated his life according to the princi- 
ples of the gospel of Christ! He was economi- 
cal with his small earnings, not from love of 
saving, but to have something to give away, 
thus practising habitual self-denial. 

About this time, he drew up the following 
resolutions : — 

1. Resolved, To give myself, my all to the 
glory of God. 

2. Resolved, To make the good of my fellow- 
men my great object of pursuit. 

3. Resolved, To think of nothing that will 
unfit me for communion with God. 

4. Resolved, To do nothing on which I cannot 
ask God's blessing. 

5. Resolved, To read nothing to myself which 
I would not read before any one. 

6. Resolved, to seek happiness from pure and 
holy sources. 

7. Resolved, To endeavor to realize the pres- 
ence of God particularly when tempted. 

8. Resolved, To persevere in the service I 
have entered upon even unto death. 

9. Resolved, That I will be in earnest, at 
the throne of grace, to ascertain what my 
duty is, and when I know it, I will go on 



CHARLES STODDARD. 65 

and perform it, no matter what my inclinations 
may be. 

10. Resolved, To call to mind, at the close 
of every day, my conduct and conversation, 
and mourn at the remembrance of my sins, and 
be more resolute to overcome them. 

11. Resolved, To realize my dependence on 
God, and be more earnest to obtain grace to 
run in the way of God's commandments. 

12. Resolved, To begin an exterminating wai 
with my besetting sin, Pride, and never give 
over the conflict till it is subdued. 

The year 1822 closes the frequent inter- 
change of letters with his parents at home, 
though occasional letters still connect their 
lives. His parents made visits to the city, at 
various times, when Charles showed them an 
affectionate and considerate attention very 
grateful to them. In his short vacations he 
went home, keeping his memories of his native 
valley green, in spite of the dust and din of 
the city. Later letters were written amid the 
responsibilities of business, but these were 
shorter, and more connected with family affairs 
at home. From them some extracts will be 
given, as also, occasionally, a portion of a letter 
from his Virginia friend. 6 * 



66 MEMORIALS OF 

With these letters forwarded to me from 
Washington, came a note from the gentleman 
to whom they had been written, expressing a 
warm, tender love for my father, and gratitude 
for his influence and example. This friend said, 
" he had .read them through, as sacred treasures, 
two or three times a year, and parted with them 
with regret, with the hope that they might help 
some one else as they had strengthened him in 
his long life, now drawing quietly but surely to 
its close." 

The principle of growth, sure evidence as it 
is of a Christian life, was strikingly illustrated 
in Mr. S. ; not only by his Sabbath-school work, 
but also by that interest in the enterprise of 
missions, which was developed so broadly in 
his later life. The following letter to his 
parents, written in 1821, will be read with 
interest in this connection. 

"My dear Parents, — It would do you 
good to attend the monthly concerts in our 
town. Last evening we had very interesting 
communications from the Sandwich Islands, 
which contained much encouragement. Letters 
were read, also, from Baron de Campagne, 
from a gentleman in Liverpool, from mis- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 67 

sionaries among the Cherokees, Choctaws, and 
Osages. By hearing their statements, we can- 
not but acknowledge the work is of God, and 
our affections are warmed. I have mentioned 
the Sabbath school to you, and am glad to say 
that my interest in this work increases. I am 
sometimes disappointed in the results I reach 
with my pupils, but I adopt the maxim of a* 
certain good man, ' Do your duty, and leave 
the result with God.' The children I instruct 
are a key by which I can reach the families 
and not unfrequently the hearts of the parents. 
You can imagine the children are quite differ- 
ent, who attend in a city, from those, whom one 
teaches in a country Sabbath school, where not 
a few of the parents are deplorably wicked, and 
frequently oppose their going to the Sabbath 
school. The parents see the interest taken in 
their children, and this wins their hearts and 
makes labor for them more effectual. I have 
many duties besides this, and I sometimes go 
home from business at night so thoroughly 
tired, that I am merely, for a time, a mechan- 
ical creature, and find it difficult to bring my 
mind to any subject. I am called from one 
person to another, from one duty to another, till 
I am weary. Judge what a sweet respite the 



68 MEMORIALS OF 

Sabbath is after the toils and cares of the 
week, and how I hail its approach. The rest 
which this season affords to weary limbs is 
great, but the repose to the mind is more 
important. I have been well all the past 
winter, have had much enjoyment, and regret 
that it will so soon terminate. 

" With filial affection, 

"C. S." 

With his brothers he keeps up a close cor- 
respondence, and the letters are full of wise 
advice, sympathy, and suggestions to spur them 
on in the future of their lives. To one of them 
he writes about this time : — 

" Deak W., — My time is all in requisition, 
and the employment of my leisure hours is 
various. All the time I have to write is taken 
from my sleep, and what I can get before break- 
fast in the morning. It is my custom to spend 
the time from ten till eleven, at night, in 
letter-writing. You wiM think the number of 
my correspondents is great, and you are not 
far from the truth. I am sometimes disposed 
to envy you the situation in which you are 
placed, for the facility it gives you to read. 
Depend upon it, if reading were made a regular 



CHARLES STODDARD. 69 

business, and you did not involuntarily engage 
in it, though you might have books about you, 
you would read very little. My own reading, 
situated as I am among others, is very much 
interrupted, and I feel the need of abstraction 
to chain down my attention to the precise 
employment in which I am engaged. When 
you write, let all your letters be worth, some- 
thing ; this you can make them if you choose. 
In business, situated as we are, though in 
different places, you and I are called to the 
performance of many duties from which our 
pride revolts. Sometimes we become angry to 
think we are burdened with this and that, 
which others have no right to lay upon us. 
I want to ask you if the exercise of such 
thoughts regarding your employment ever 
tended to impart cheerfulness to your mind, 
or support to jomv heart? Were you ever 
happier for being angry, or harboring ill-will 
to another ? Never ! and you never will be. 
Anger is more fatal to our own peace than 
to that of the individual against whom it is 
directed. Now since we both are exposed to 
temptations of this kind, we absolutely need 
the spirit of Christ to enable us to obtain the 
victory. We must be Christians, or endure 



70 MEMORIALS OF 

much misery which arises from ourselves, in 
our passage through this world, and our foolish 
and wicked desires. I speak of religion to you 
often in my letters, for you need all its consola- 
tions and its hopes. They are not imaginary, 
nor does piety consist in certain feelings of the 
soul. It is a steady light, a ' sunshine of the 
soul,' arising from conscious rectitude. You 
will observe, in reading the Book of Psalms, 
that David often appeals to God for the sin- 
cerity of his heart. Why ? Because that he 
felt, though often led astray, yet that his real 
desires and determined purposes were to serve 
God. Dwell, in your meditations, rather on 
the privileges than the hardships of your lot, 
and may peace be yours ! 

" Let me assure you of the unchanging love 
of your brother 

" Charles." 

" Dear W., — I have much to write in reply 
to your last letter. I fully agree with you that 
man cannot decide who is, and who is not, a 
sincere walker with God. It is the prerogative 
of God alone to look at the heart, and as long 
as outward conformity is observed, we have no 
right to suppose -the service is heartless. That 



CHARLES STODDARD. 7] 

charity which * hopeth all things,' if in exer- 
cise, will lead to the most favorable construction 
of the action of others, and an humble Chris- 
tian will be far from starting the thought, that 
though his neighbor's conduct was right, yet 
his motives were wrong. Should I notice in 
an) man such a disposition as led him to speak 
of the failings of good men, while their good 
qualities were kept out of sight, instead of 
lowering the man he would defame, he would 
turn my attention towards himself, and sink in 
the same proportion as he intended his neighbor 
should. It is our wisdom to study human 
nature to benefit ourselves, but a greater mark 
of wisdom is the careful study of one's self. 
And if we begin this difficult and laborious 
work with the determination to persevere, we 
shall find enough employment on hand, with- 
out speculating on the characters of others. 

4 Knowledge dwells 
In heads replete with thoughts of other men ; 
Wisdom, in minds attentive to their own.' 

" Write soon, and not wait for something new 
to teU. 

" Your affectionate brother, 

« C. S." 



72 MEMORIALS OF 

The poetry with which the letter closes, I 
have often heard my father quote. He was 
strongly averse to the hostile criticism of others, 
and invariably upheld the good points of a 
character thus assailed ; or, if he were unac- 
quainted with the person, remained silent, with 
a pained expression of countenance. In con- 
nection with this dislike of hearing the charac- 
ters of people canvassed in an unfriendly way, 
I remember his once silencing us, saying mildly 
but firmly, "I wish you to talk of things or 
events, not persons." He made the gospel stand- 
ard of Christian love his principle of life, and 
grew thus in beauty, as well as strength of 
character. 

Following this letter in the order of time, 
are a number of other letters, almost amounting 
to a volume, on banking, keeping accounts, and 
other business matters, showing not only rare 
maturity of mind, but a thoughtful interest in 
the character and success of that brother, for a 
youth only nineteen years old. 

To his parents, in December of the same year, 
I find he gives expression anew to his sense of 
gratitude to them, alluded to in various ways 
during the whole course of his correspondence. 
Tie writes : — 



CHARLES STODDARD. 73 

" Dear Mother, — The year is drawing to 
a close, and my thoughts are fixed upon home 
and upon you. I love to recall those pleasing 
yet painful scenes of childhood which endear 
my home and my parents to my heart"! When I 
attempt to converse with my Sunday-school 
children, and remember with what tender, 
earnest, and persevering constancy you used to 
lead me to think of my soul, my mouth is filled 
with arguments. I think how strong, how per- 
manent the impression made on my mind by you, 
when you sought my bedside in the silence of 
the evening, and endeavored with all the elo- 
quence which a fond mother can command, to 
point my mind to Jesus of Nazareth. These 
impressions never have been, never will be 
effaced ; I would mention this as an encourage- 
ment to the use of such means. Perhaps you 
then thought that the slight effect produced 
would soon be forgotten, but the influence will 
last to eternity, and have much to do with my 
future condition. 

" It is Saturday afternoon ; and, if I ever feel 
in a contemplative mood, it is at the close of the 
week. Perhaps this feeling is partially owing 
to the manner in which I was taught to regard 
Saturday evening. I remember the stillness 



74 MEMORIALS OF 

which prevailed after the sun went down, and 
the labors of the week were ended. I know 
that my being brought up in this manner has 
exerted a powerful influence upon my conduct 
to this very day. I used to think the restraints 
thrown upon me were very great, and the Sab- 
bath itself was often a tedious day, but at the 
same time I reverenced the Sabbath. I was say- 
ing that the return of this evening brings solem 
nity to my mind ; I find it an appropriate season 
for self-examination and prayer as a preparation 
for the Sabbath ; and, as I enter upon the 
duties of the Sabbath prepared or unprepared, 
in the same proportion do I enjoy the day more 
or less. I hope that I have not wearied you, 
for I would avoid egotism. 
44 With warm affection, 

44 Your Son. 

44 Charles Stoddard." 

A letter from his mother will appropriately 
close this period, marked as it was by his early 
absence from home, his singular maturity of 
character, and deep sense of personal responsi- 
bility : — 

44 It is a long time, my dear Charles, since I 
have written you, and were you not well assured 



CHARLES STODDARD. 75 

a mother's love can never languish, you might 
perhaps think that you were less cherished in 
my affections than formerly. I need not tell 
you how memory delights to dwell on scenes 
that are past, — some interesting passages you 
have read to me, some pleasant conversation as 
we rambled over hill and dale ; and particularly, 
when the sacred rest of the Sabbath commenced 
on Saturday evening, I recall the serene expres- 
sion of your countenance, as if you were glad 
of that 

6 Holy day to mortals given, 
To guide our souls the way to heaven.' 

" The sweet recollection of the Sabbaths we 
have enjoyed together is a solace during absence, 
and helps us in looking forward to an eternal 
Sabbath in the presence of our Redeemer. 
Fancy often, at other times, wafts me to you, 
and presents you fervent in spirit, filling up life 
with usefulness and duty. When the cares of 
the day are past, and I can call the hours my 
own, my thoughts turn to my absent children, 
while I supplicate the Father of mercies to 
bestow upon them his choicest blessings. The 
return of the spring claims afresh our gratitude. 
Goodness and mercy are still extended to me. 



76 MEMORIALS OF 

and it is my desire to praise the Lord for his 
goodness. We are beginning to enjoy the sweets 
of this returning spring. The earth is arrayed in 
her verdant mantle, and the opening blossoms 
on the trees promise a rich variety of fruit. 
How grateful is the return of this season ! but 
more cheering the favor of God to the mourn- 
ing soul, when he lifts up the light of his coun- 
tenance upon one who hungereth and thirsteth 
after righteousness, and says, ; Go in peace : 
thy sins are forgiven.' I hope you are still 
feeling the favor of God. It affords me much 
pleasure to visit your nursery and flower-garden. 
Many of your trees are in a flourishing state, 
some of your flowers in blossom. When I look 
on your violets, they seem to meet my view 
with an aspect so cheerful and serene, I cannot 
but indulge the hope that they are emblems of 
the state of your mind. The Supreme Court is 
sitting, and your father consequently busy. 
Will you convey my love to all my dear rela- 
tives in Boston. With fond love for yourself, 
" From your affectionate mother, 

" Sarah Stoddard." 



III. 

HIS SABBATH-SCHOOL WORK. — ITS 
JOY AND ITS RESULTS. 

182X4831. 

THE next ten years formed an important 
and active part of my father's life. He 
was a resident of Boston, a member of a large 
circle of relatives, was forming systematic busi- 
ness habits, and fitting himself for more impor- 
tant positions in mercantile affairs. He was 
also a member of the Old South Church, and 
had identified himself with its Sabbath school as 
a teacher. Yet he was still a private man, in a 
comparatively narrow sphere. No brilliant open- 
ing offered him wealth or fame. In those days, 
even as now, the rush for money was eager, and 
its acquisition greeted with exaggerated praise. 
The strife for distinction was felt, although in 
a less degree. And the quiet virtues of my 
father's life were scarcely recognized by the 
multitude. Yet in what really constitutes life, 
that which takes hold on eternity, had not his 

7* 77 



78 MEMORIALS OF 

daily walk a quiet power which fame could 
not exalt, nor gold enhance ? 

If this type of manhood could be multiplied, 
might we not look forward with more hope for 
our nation, and the world, in the coming gener- 
ations ? 

The changes in his outward life were not 
striking, nor were his inward experiences won- 
derful. The "grain of mustard-seed" had 
taken root, and was growing into a tree of 
righteousness, whose fruit came also in its sea- 
son. 

Just in this respect the life of my father 
seems full of encouragement. He acted up to 
his convictions of duty, and knowledge of the 
way of life was the result. He obeyed the com- 
mand to separate himself for the service of the 
Lord, and great peace came. He used his tal- 
ents so consecrated, and growth in holiness was 
his reward. He was twice blessed, — blessed in 
receiving, with a trustful, loving spirit, the gift 
of God, — and blessed in giving to others from 
the fulness of his own spiritual life. His let- 
ters are the best index of what he was, and on 
them I depend for the drawing and the develop- 
ment of his character. To the friend who had 
left Boston to live in Washington, and who 



CHARLES STODDARD. 79 

had been connected with him in Sabbath-school 
work, he wrote with some regularity : — 

" My dear Friend, — You are a superin- 
tendent in a Sabbath school, and are, no doubt, 
sensible of the importance and responsibility of 
the office. Placing the future weight of glory 
entirely out of the question, I think the Sunday- 
school teacher would find sufficient motive to 
activity and zeal in the self-satisfaction insep- 
arable from benevolent efforts, but we should be 
guided by a higher motive than self-love. 

" I have felt as if it were possible, after all 
the zeal which I thought I felt for the Sabbath- 
school children, that a selfish motive alone was 
the cause of it. O my friend! when we can 
feel assured that ' the love of Christ constrain- 
eth us,' then we shall be happy. It requires 
courage to walk in the steps of the divine Mas- ■ 
ter, because the spirit by which he was actu- 
ated is opposite to the spirit of the world. > If 
we will live godly in Christ Jesus, wo shall 
suffer persecution ' in one form or another, and 
I have thought, in my own case, that perhaps 
one reason why I did not meet with more per- 
secution was, I manifested so little of the Chris- 
tian spirit. You and I have an influence, if we 



80 MEMORIALS OF 

are discreet and prudent. Every man has some 
influence, and I have observed that that man 
had the most, and consequently the greatest 
opportunity for doing good, who possessed de- 
cision of character, who acted, not from the 
impulse of the moment, but from a stern and 
inflexible regard to principle. The young men 
with whom you were associated, desire with me 
an affectionate remembrance. This letter was 
written in haste : so I beg pardon for its faults. 
Pray for us. " 

In another, in 1823, he says : — 

" I have done with vain excuses ; they are 
always out of place, but especially when urged 
as a reason for not fulfilling the duties of a 
faithful correspondent. Yet the cause has not 
been want of attachment to my friend. The 
world has kept me busy, demanded my atten- 
tion. Last week, our church held a fast. It 
was a most interesting season. Since then, I 
have seen your friend Dr. Rice. I hope he will 
be able to awaken an interest among our people, 
and induce them to contribute to your semi- 
nary. 

" Our prayer-meetings continue much as 
when you left. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 81 

" I was glad to learn of your happy marriage, 
I do not doubt that the marriage state, where 
kindred hearts are united, is productive of pure 
and elevated enjoyment unknown to those who 
live single. But my time is so occupied with 
Sabbath school, religious societies, and conduct- 
ing an extensive business, that I have as yet 
neglected the duty (if duty it be). 

" Your retrospect of the past few years of 
your life is a sample of the varied experience 
of thousands. In infinite wisdom God lias 
seen fit to secure us all against permanent 
enjoyment on earth, by sending sickness, sever- 
ering tender ties, or disappointing our hopes. 
This is a state of trial ; and, if we had nothing 
to ruffle our feelings, how could we develop the 
graces of patience and resignation ? If we had 
no temptation to pride, how should we learn 
humility ? It is an humbling thought, that we 
so rarely allow ourselves to be led to God, but 
must so often be driven by his judgments. 

" I have often thought, if we are so happy as 
to obtain a seat on the heights of Zion, we shall 
look back upon these periods as the brightest 
spots in our lives, as they called forth graces 
which would never have existed if it had not 
been for the trials Providence sent upon us. 



82 MEMORIALS OF 

" As to the morals of the city of Washing- 
ton, I should judge, from public information, 
that though there are many good people there, 
still it is an immoral place, certainly during the 
winter, when a large number of unprincipled 
men are collected there. 

" When will the time come when the best 
recommendation possible for a candidate for 
office will be the character of a consistent 
Christian? Certainly we cannot expect such 
a result till the children, by Christian teaching, 
have learned the true art of government, — that 
of governing themselves. I do feel deeply inter- 
ested in Sabbath schools. I would fain hope that 
the time is not far distant when all our Western 
population shall be supplied with them. 

" These schools have a decided advantage 
over every other means, as the truth can be 
brought before every child in the nation who 
can be induced to attend them, and at the age 
when the mind is most susceptible to good 
impressions. Moreover, it costs but little. 
Other means of doing good are expensive, and 
it costs much labor to collect the necessary 
funds, but where hearts beat that glow with 
divine love, and wherever children can be 
found, there Sabbath schools can be established. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 83 

" This is a subject on which I delight to 
dwell, for, if there is one branch of benevo- 
lence to which I feel peculiarly desirous of 
devoting myself, it is the Sabbath school. 

" I am always glad to hear from you. Your 
friend in the best of bonds." 

In his labors in this department, he was 
untiring. In the book of "notes," to which 
allusion has been made, he thus speaks of his 
feelings of responsibility in this work : — 

" I feel a deep interest in the Sabbath school 
committed to my charge. I love tenderly the 
children who belong to it, and desire their sal- 
vation ; I hope I am enabled to pray for it with 
some degree of fervor. I love to visit the 
children at their homes. I feel as if this work 
would be my employment as long as I live." 

There were seasons of great interest at dif- 
ferent times in his school, and many will look 
upon those hours at the Fort Hill Sabbath 
school, as the beginning of a holier and better 
life. He planned with much thought how to 
interest the different classes. He prepared pic- 
ture-caras with appropriate verses and ques- 
tions, long before this our day, which so teems 
with its brilliant " Rewards of Merit." 



84 MEMORIALS OF 

The little leaflet given on the opposite page 
will suggest the care and thought he bestowed 
in behalf of the young, though the execution 
seems to us so rude. 

The following is the testimony of a teacher 
who was for years an efficient helper in the 
Fort Hill work : — 

" Two sessions were held each Sabbath 
throughout the year. No suspension of the 
school in the summer, or excursion into the 
country, was then thought necessary. Most of 
the year we assembled at half-past eight, A.M., 
the first thirty minutes being devoted to prayer 
for God's blessing on our labors. At one 
o'clock, p.m., we met again. 

" Teachers were required to visit their schol- 
ars once a month; absentees always the ensu- 
ing week. As many came from alleys in and 
around Broad Street, the duty was not always 
pleasant, yet it was done cheerfully and 
promptly. 

" Some of the children did not attend any 
church. The superintendent said if they 
would go with him, they should be taken care 
of. They did so, and occupied the upper 
gallery in Old South; the teachers who wor- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 



85 



ELECTION DAY, 1828. 




' Lord teach us to pray." 



Brothers and sisters hand in hand, 

Our lips together move, 
Then smile upon this little band, 

And join our hearts in love. 



Select for your Companions those only who fear an oath, for 
All these are things which I hate, saith the Lord. 
— Zech. viii. 17. 

Those only who speak the truth, for 
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. — Prov- 
erbs xii. 22. 

Those only who obey their parents, for 
To obey is better than sacrifice. — 1 Sam. xv. 22. 

Those only who fear the Lord, for 
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 
— Proverbs i. 7. 

4®* He that walketh with wise men shall be wise; 
But a companion of fools shall be destroyed. — 
Proverbs xiii. 20. 



FORT HILL SABBATH SCHOOL, 
BOSTON, MAY 28, 1828. 



8 



86 MEMORIALS OF 

shipped there sitting with them in turn, and 
the superintendent also. 

" A teachers' meeting was held regularly once 
a fortnight to study the lesson for the two 
succeeding Sabbaths. Every teacher was ex- 
pected to be present, having previously studied 
the lesson, and committed to memory the Bible 
references. 

44 The second Monday evening in the month 
was observed as a concert of prayer for the 
school. Each meeting was full of interest, and 
always well attended. 

44 This not being a parish school, many adults 
as well as children of other denominations 
came in, and were benefited by its teachings. 
It was indeed a privilege to be connected with 
it. No drones could remain in it all must 
work ; yet our devoted superintendent imposed 
no burden on his teachers that he was not 
ready and willing to share." 

My father used to have Sunday text-books, 
gifts for those who learned the Bible well, and 
words of kindness and encouragement to speak 
to those that needed them. 

His Sabbath school-work was continued till 
his death. Indeed, in the commentary he was 



CHARLES STODDARD. 87 

studying with his Bible-class, remains the writ- 
ten preparation for the Sabbath on which ' he 
w^as kept at home by illness. It comprises a 
long list of interesting questions. The next 
Sabbath he had joined the company of those 
patriarchs and prophets of whom he thought 
so much. In fact, he had read so much and 
entered so entirely into their spirit, that he 
spoke of them as friends, as familiarly as of 
friends of to-clay. He was faithful personally 
to each member of the class under his care, 
appointing times for them to come and talk with 
him, inviting them to tea, making his house a 
place of friendly resort for them. He sought 
them also at their places of residence, and in- 
stances are not wanting of those who have come 
to me with tender memories of his faithfulness 
to them when younger, in their homes. 

From one of the Fort Hill scholars, now 
advanced in life, I have received a letter 
written to her by my father, long, loving, 
and personal. The note which accompanied 
it was as follows : — 

" I enclose tnis letter, written to me when I 
was a, little girl. I was very much pleased to 
receive it, I recollect, and it had great influ- 



88 MEMORIALS OF 

ence with me, as (being a minister's daughter) 
few considered it needful to speak to me on 
religious subjects. We children were very fond 
of Mr. Stoddard, and always tried to be early 
at Sabbath school, as we were sure of a little 
pleasant chat with him before the rest of the 
scholars or teachers came. However earLy we 
were there, we were seldom in advance of him. 
Removing from Boston as we did before the 
time of the enclosed letter (1831), I had only 
seen Mr. Stoddard twice since, once at a Yale 
commencement, and last at the meeting of 
' American Board ' in Brooklyn. Yet I felt, 
when his death was announced, that I had lost 
a personal friend." 

The following is the letter that she en- 
closed : — 

" Dear M., — When I have expressed to 
you my strong desire that you would devote 
yourself to the service of your Redeemer in 
the daj^s of your youth, j^ou have probably not 
doubted but such were the real feelings of my 
heart. I know not how much solicitude a 
parent feels for the early conversion of his 
child, because I have never sustained the rela- 
tion, but I think I can conceive of it in some 



CHARLES STODDARD. 89 

degree. And sure I am that none other than a 
parent nan claim to feel more interest than I 
do for the dear scholars who are associated at 
Fort Hill. Among them all your case is prom- 
inent, and seeing you are for the present far 
removed from the reach of my voice, } r ou will 
permit me, in a familiar manner, as if we were 
seated together, to engage your reflections and 
your attention for a little time. 

" I would say then, dear Mary, I cannot 
consider your case a very hopeful one, nor do I 
think the prospect of your ultimate conver- 
sion to God as a thing to be confidently ex- 
pected, unless you are induced speedily to yield 
up your heart to the sweet influence of the 
truth. Do you ask my reason ? It is found in 
the fact that you are the child of pious parents, 
who have not only consecrated you to God, 
but who have not ceased to point out to you 
your duty, and your obligation to give }^our 
heart to the Saviour. When the claims of the 
Lord Jesus to the warm affections of your 
heart are made, it is no new thing. You have 
often had them presented before. You know 
your duty, and the motives which should 
prompt to an immediate performance are prob- 
ably distinctly apprehended. Your conscience 
8* 



90 MEMORIALS OF 

is, in a considerable degree, enlightened: so 
that you are in circumstances not unlike to 
those of the servant who c knew his lord's will, 
and did it not; and who, consequently, was 
found worthy to be beaten with many stripes.' 
Now to remain at all, even for a little period, 
without exercising contrition .for your sins, 
repentance towards God, and faith in oar Lord 
Jesus Christ, betokens a hardness of heart 
which, to human view, is far removed from 
God and hope. Perhaps I do wrong to say 
I consider any case hopeless, or one case 
more hopeful than another, because God has 
taught me that he can change the hardest 
heart, and bring to himself those who seemed 
the most unwilling to come. Two or three 
of our Sabbath scholars, of whom I had the 
least hope, I now have reason to believe have 
given themselves to the Saviour. Several of 
the scholars in our school are at present 
anxious about their souls, and a number, 
as I fondly hope, have entered in at the 
strait gate, and begun to walk in the narrow 
way. 

" But to return to the remarks on the preceding 
page. I want you should not rest in the prayers 
of your parents, nor in the fact that you have 



CHARLES STODDARD. 91 

had a religious education, and have been pre- 
vented from the follies of other young people. 
I want to tear away from you every refuge, and, 
in kindness to your soul, urge you with plain- 
ness to lose no time in preparing for eternity. 
You are probably not unfavorably situated, in 
the retirement of the country, for serious reflec- 
tion and meditation. Think, then, how long 
you have dared to live in sin, a pensioner on the 
bounty of Him whose service you are unwilling 
to engage in, but who is still willing to blot out 
your transgressions, if you truly repent of them. 
Think of the love, oh think of the love of that 
Redeemer, who by the sufferings of the cross, 
has opened a way for your salvation ! Think 
how many times you have grieved away the 
blessed Spirit, who if cherished would convert 
your soul to God. There will be a period when 
that blessed Spirit shall no more strive with 
sinners. When alone, if you will engage your 
thoughts on these interesting subjects, methinks 
you cannot but feel yourself a lost sinner in 
need of mercy. Probably if I should ask you 
the question, how much you are willing to do 
for your salvation, you would reply, " Any thing 
that would secure a blessed result." Something 
like this would be your answer if the Spirit 



92 MEMORIALS OF 

was striving with you, as I fondly hope will be 
the case when this letter is received. 

u God requires that heart of yours. Has he 
not a right to it ? Can you refuse his claim ? 
Will you? Remember that to defer is to refuse, 
and that if you are not ready to-day to repent 
and believe in the Saviour, you have no reason 
to think you ever will be ready. I want to urge 
you to a final decision of the great question, 
as soon as yon have finished reading this letter. 
I want you should solemnly and before God 
resolve that you will choose him for your por- 
tion, Christ for your master, holiness for your 
way, and heaven for your final home. Perish, 
if at all, at the feet of Jesus, crying for mercy. 
Once, in conversation with you, I alluded to the 
fact that you are the oldest child, to whom your 
brother and sisters naturally look for an example. 
Set them an example such as in a dying hour 
you would wish them to imitate. Give your 
own heart to the Saviour, and then take them 
by the hand, and lead them to Christ. 

" I have been to-day to visit a girl of about 
your age who has for several weeks been laid 
on a bed of sickness, and for the most part 
exercised with severe and protracted pain. But 
she has a hope in the Redeemer, firm and un- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 93 

shaken. She says she has no desire to live 
unless the Lord has something for her to do. 
She almost dreads to get well, lest she should 
be less engaged in the service of Christ than she 
now feels it her duty to be. You would be 
struck with the sight of her placid countenance 
and heavenly expression. She thinks of Him 
whom her soul loveth, and she pants after him, 
and longs to be with him. Yet she ' is sur- 
rounded by few of the comforts of this world. 
Her widowed mother is poor and almost penni- 
less, but rich in faith herself, and rich in having 
such a child. I need not say that this interest- 
ing girl did not put off the subject of her salva- 
tion till she was taken sick. For nearly a year 
she has found Christ precious to her soul. I 
have also seen this afternoon an aged Christian, 
drawing near to eternity, but triumphing in her 
Eedeemer, and praising the Lord for his mercy 
in all the circumstances of her sickness. If you 
would possess these supports and consolations 
when most you will need them, make Christ your 
friend. And may I not hope that you will with- 
out delay, while the Spirit draws, and the first 
admonitions of conscience are felt, which the 
perusal of the letter may excite, — that you will 
open your heart to the influence of this blessed 



94 MEMORIALS OF 

agent, that he may renew you, and make you 
an humble child of God ? 

44 1 make no apology for the freedom and 
plainness with which I have written ; and with 
an affectionate remembrance to your brother 
and your sisters, and earnest prayers for your 
conversion, I remain 

44 Your Sabbath-school friend, 

44 Charles Stoddakd." 

His Sunday-school scholars are all over the 
world. Once, when travelling in Europe, he 
was accosted by an official of customs, in cross- 
ing the English Channel, who passed the lug- 
gage at once, saying, 44 Mark those trunks," and 
turning to my father said, 44 You, perhaps, do 
not recognize me. But I was one of the scholars 
at Fort Hill Sunday school when you were 
superintendent, and I needn't ask if you have 
any spirits, or tobacco, or any thing else to be 
examined." 

Another scholar has sent me a book of ques- 
tions written out, the answers to which were to 
be sought from the Bible. She writes : — 

44 1 do not think Mr. Stoddard knew the love 
and reverence I always had for him. When a 
little child, I almost worshipped him. He 



CHARLES STODDARD. 95 

seemed like a guiding star. I thought not of 
God, but, if Mr. Stoddard approved, it was the 
height of my ambition." 

His interest in this scholar continued for 
years; indeed she has told me his influence 
would continue as long as she lived. 

But why enumerate the examples ? Though 
many details of rich results might be given, the 
record and revelation are not to be read here, 
but are reserved for the day of award that 
awaits us all at the end of our earthly course. 

Men have advanced the theory, that a sound 
once started on the waves of air goes on in ever- 
widening vibrations, through ages and to distant 
worlds. 

This maybe the fancy of a poet's dream, but 
we know that loving words, spoken for Christ's 
sake, are not lost. Their echo will reach the 
infinite throne, and bring blessed commendation 
froin the lips of Him to whom all men shall 
bow, — " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one 
of the least of these, ye have done it unto me." 

The enthusiasm and steady love which he felt 
for this work grew with his labor. He has told 
me that his interest at that time led him to over- 
task his strength. Indeed, events proved this to 
be true, for he was obliged to resign all busi- 



96 MEMORIALS OF 

ness and other duties, and be absent in search 
of health for many months during the succeed- 
ing two years, from an over-strain of mind and 
body. Always actively employed in business 
during the week, when the rest, so often alluded 
to with grateful love in his early letters, was 
not found on the Sabbath, he could not keep his 
health. Six hours were given to this Sabbath 
work of teaching. He sat also with the scholars 
in church, taking the responsibility of their 
behavior there, as well as in his class. 

When he returned in due time invigorated, 
he took charge of a Bible-class of young men, 
meeting them on Sabbath mornings. This he 
never gave up till he died. He prepared for it 
by a lesson, studied before breakfast on every 
morning of the week, in his " oratory." A 
room so called was set apart for my father's use 
in the house. It was small, sunny, with bright 
carpet and many books ; and here, after going 
to the Giver of light and knowledge, and 
enjoying communion with him as friend with 
friend, would he take his Word, and find the 
richness of wisdom in its pages. He wrote out 
a list of questions, some very quaint ones among 
them. He made remote countries and men of 
far-distant ages real to those whom he taught, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 97 

dwelling on and making luminous the princi- 
ples of their lives, and the lesson of those lives 
for us. He sometimes spoke of Mr. Abraham 
and Mr. Isaac, as if they were living men. He 
had from time to time many young men under 
his influence ; some growing up to become min- 
isters, some missionaries, others taking classes, 
following in his steps, and, according to his 
advice, becoming givers, not receivers only. 
These formed a steady column marching on 
to fill up the ranks of those who became citi- 
zens, or important members in Church and 
State. All of them would give testimony to 
his personal influence. 

Several, indeed, have sent me some account 
of the impressions they had received. One, a 
consistent, active Christian, writes, " My first 
acquaintance with Mr. Stoddard was at his 
Bible-class, on Sunday morning. The fulness 
and care with which his lessons were prepared 
showed great study, though he never liked any 
argument that cast a shadow of doubt on the 
inspiration of the Bible. Often he introduced 
some amusing incident or comical remark to 
illustrate the lesson. To young men away from 
home, with only a boarding-house to live in, his 
house was always open, and a hearty welcome 

9 



98 MEMORIALS OF 

ready, on week-days or Sundays, to any one who 
chose to accept his frequent invitations. I well 
remember how cordial he always was even when 
I first knew him, and how pleasantly he recog- 
nized me on the street, when I was compara- 
tively a stranger in the city, and it was a great 
thing for me to be noticed by a man in his 
position. His interest in missions was shown 
among his young men as everywhere else; and 
on New Year's Day we were all presented with 
a copy of 4 The Missionary Herald,' and told 
that it would continue to come to us during the 
year, and he hoped we should all read it, and 
become interested in the work that was so dear 
to him. 

" The influence he exerted over the young 
men in his Bible-class will not be wholly known 
in this life. I once had occasion to call at his 
office, and found he had gone to the weekly 
meeting at the Missionary House. He was 
alone in the committee-room, as the hour had 
not come for the meeting. After doing my 
errand, he showed me the interesting books 
and articles about the room, and expressed a 
hope that I should take an interest -in the 
great work of missions ; * for,' said he, 4 we 
can't expect to serve many years longer, and it 



CHARLES STODDARD. 99 

is to the young men we must look to carry on 
this work. 5 

From another, who enjoyed these morning 
studies in the Bible with my father, and who 
was also acquainted with his daily life through 
a business connection, I have received the fol- 
lowing testimony. He who writes bears in his 
own life the fruits of a Christian faith and zeal. 

" For eight years it was my privilege to see 
Mr. Stoddard daily. He was one of the saint- 
liest men I ever knew; uniformly ready by 
word and deed, under all circumstances, to 
illustrate the gospel he so loved and so well 
expressed. Never shall I forget his quaint 
illustrations of Scripture truth. In the Bible- 
class, he once asked the writer if he knew the 
value of corner-lots in Tyre ? Supposing them 
to be valueless, I answered accordingly. His 
next query was, ; If Boston forgets God, breaks 
his Sabbaths, dishonors his sanctuary, how long 
will it be before corner-lots here will be a drug 
in the market?' and added, that the com- 
mercial value of religion had not been properly 
estimated. 

" On another occasion, speaking of Christian 
giving, I remember his reading a passage from the 



100 MEMORIALS OF 

Old Testament, where the crooked, lame, &c, 
were not to be offered to God in sacrifice. He 
remarked that when the contribution-box was 
passed on the Sabbath, for some benevolent object, 
he had known persons who would hunt their 
pockets for a crooked sixpence, but he hoped his 
young men would never do such a thing. I 
have seen him when sorrow filled his heart. 
Especially do I remember the morning when he 
received a telegram announcing the death of a 
grandson. An expression of intense sorrow 
passed over his face, and he retired immediately. 
After a half-hour of communion with God, he 
returned to the counting-room, a calm filling his 
soul, his face radiant with the peace of God 
that passeth understanding. Near the close of 
his life, referring to sleepless nights which he 
sometimes experienced, he remarked that he 
had adopted the Psalmist's plan to meditate on 
God in the night watches ; he related his expe- 
rience, to the effect that in the stillness of the 
night he had enjoyed some of the sweetest 
moments of communion with God he had ever 
known, particularly referring to the Hundred 
and Nineteenth Psalm as being the sentiment 
of his soul's utterances on these occasions. But 
a few days before his death, he remarked to the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 101 

writer, that the book of God so charmed him, 
he had little time to devote to other reading ; 
it was so positive in its teachings, directing the 
soul to a sure resting-place, and containing all 
the ethics a man need know to insure success 
in this world, and a blissful immortality in the 
world to come." 

An example of how he made right the test 
of action, and the law of God the rule of life, 
is given in the following incident, which was 
also a lesson for the young men of his Bible- 
class. On a Sunday morning, one of the young 
men, when he came, handed him a sermon-case, 
which had the name of Theodore Parker on 
the cover. 

When the class was assembled, my father 
said, " Young gentlemen, I have a . case of 
casuistry for you to determine this morning. 
I hold in my hand Theodore Parker's sermon 
for this day. It is entitled, c The pretended 
Messiah, and the actual Jesus ; ' and is from 
this text, ' Is not this the carpenter's son ? ' 

" The young man who found it thinks that 
the sermon should not be given up to Mr. 
Parker, because its teachings will throw doubt 
on the divinity of the blessed Saviour. What 

9* 



102 MEMORIALS OF 

do you think?" Each member of the class 
was asked, and different views expressed. 
After all had spoken, my father said, " There 
is but one thing to do, and that is, to restore 
the property to its owner. God will take care 
of the honor of his Son, and see that his word, 
however preached, shall redound to his glory." 

The sermon was returned, and preached in 
the Music Hall that morning. 

One year he sent to young friends, whom he 
thought might be interested to come to his 
class, a note of invitation, which I transcribe. 

Boston, Oct. 16, 1869. 

Dear Sir, — I respectfully and affectionately 
invite you to attend a young men's Bible-class, . 
at Old South Chapel, Freeman Place, lower 
room, on the morning of each Sabbath, at nine 
o'clock, beginning Sabbath, Oct. 17. 

The subject for the present season is, " The 
Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ," as unfolded in 
the four Gospels. 

Very truly yours, 

Charles Stoddard. 

To Mr. 

Rev. Dr. Means of Dorchester, an " Old 
South" scholar of my father, has kindly fur- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 103 

nished the following reminiscences of his ac- 
quaintance with him in the relation of teacher 
and pupil : — 

" Very pleasant are the recollections of those 
who were members of Deacon Stoddard's Bible- 
class. For many years we met in a corner of 
the chapel . in Spring Lane, where two long 
settees were filled by young men drawn, not 
only from the Old South, but other societies. 

" The teacher always met his class with a 
smile. Evidently the Sabbath was to him a 
delight, and the study of the Bible a most con- 
genial work. When the skies were bright, he 
was especially glad ; and his frequent salutation 
was, ' Another pleasant Sabbath morning, gen- 
tlemen.' The hearts of the young quickly 
responded, and in a genial mood the service 
commenced. One or two of the class, I re- 
member to have been decidedly prejudiced 
against personal religion; but even they con- 
fessed that piety in him was attractive. 

" Then his class were all made to feel that 
he himself had studied the Scripture thor- 
oughly. In my day he used no question-book, 
but brought, on long strips of paper, questions, 
references, and remarks, carefully prepared, 



104 MEMORIALS OF 

apt, pithy, comprehensive. Often there was a 
playfulness in his tone. He liked to speak 
of ' Mr. Abraham,' and 4 Mrs. Jezebel,' and of 
the 'gentlemen and ladies' of the Bible. He 
was unusually familiar with the Old Testa- 
ment, and delighted to describe its sublime 
scenes. 

" In all his teachings he gave the impression 
of a sincere belief. No one could fail to see 
how implicitly he rested on the declarations 
and promises of God's word; how his own 
life was shaped and supported by them. When 
objections were urged, — and young men like 
to bring them up, — he met them squarely and 
positively. 

" Yet there was no dogmatism in his spirit. 
He always listened courteously to his clsss, 
ready to interchange thought, and so secured 
both their confidence and affection. 

" Faithful also were his efforts to cultivate 
beneficence, especially to awaken an interest in 
missions. To him this work was the noblest 
of Christian enterprises. Tracts bearing upon 
the subject were often put into our hands, and 
he stimulated our generosity in weekly offer- 
ing, by himself doubling whatever we gave. 
I fear our liberality did not tax him very 



CHARLES STODDARD. 105 

severely, but, none the less, lie showed his 
spirit. 

" As regards the highest ultimate aim, that of 
leading his scholars to Christ, I do not remem- 
ber that he dealt much in exhortations or 
direct personal appeals ; but certainly the 
whole pressure of his influence was in this 
direction, and was felt to be so. He himself 
illustrated and commended a religious life, 
showed in every word his sense of its para- 
mount importance, and, when one opened the 
heart to him, I have good reason to know how 
sympathetic, wise, and tender his counsel was. 

" As I think of the hours passed under his 
instruction, I am led to call him a model 
teacher, and count my having been a member 
of his class among the higher blessings of my 
life. " J. H. M." 



IV. 
PERSONAL RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY. 

18314836. 

TTN 1826, when his brother David was but 
~L seven years old, he opened a correspondence 
with him, which never ceased till David, from 
a missionary field of . labor, was called to a 
heavenly home. There are no scales in which 
to weigh the influence which the small begin- 
nings of this affectionate correspondence may 
have exerted in moulding that brother to the 
work for which his talents and piety so fitted 
him. Following these letters, — which are a 
little pushed on beyond their place in time, — 
are several letters relating to home and family 
events, as well as items of his personal history. 
In 1826 he writes the following letter to his 
brother David, who was then seven years old : — 

" I have received two letters from you writ- 
ten by an amanuensis. 

" I suspect you will not know the meaning of 

106 



CHARLES STODDARD. 107 

that word without looking at the dictionary. 1 
hope that you will this winter learn the letters 
used in numerals, as, L for fifty. Also learn 
stops, so that you can not only tell how long 
you should pause when reading, but be able to 
describe them. I mention these things to you, 
as when I was in Northampton last I found 
you ignorant of these subjects, and I recol- 
lected that the poorest children in this city, by 
the time they are seven years old, can answer 
all the questions in the little book I send with 
this letter. 

" I notice by your letter that you study geog- 
raphy and Latin grammar, which is all very 
well, to be sure ; but I think a thorough knowl- 
edge of these first principles is more important 
for a boy of your age, than more difficult sub- 
jects. 

" Correct spelling is more important than 
good writing ; and when you grow up you will 
appear much better if you always spell cor- 
rectly though your handwriting is poor, than 
you would with bad spelling though written 
with a hand equal to copperplate. 

" Always be a good boy. Never say won't. 
Be careful always to keep your temper. 
Never get angry at trifles. 

Your Affectionate Brother." 



108 MEMORIALS OF 

To the same a little later : — 

" Dear Brother David, — I have bought 
you some marbles as I promised, and shall send 
them in a few days. When I was of your age, 
I remember I used to be fond of playing mar- 
bles, and other sports such as you engage in ; 
nor do I wonder that you love to spend your 
leisure hours in this manner. My great desire 
is, that, while you love your play well, you 
should love your Bible better, and find more 
enjoyment in reading it, and learning it by 
heart, than in any amusement. You have often 
heard the story of the sufferings and death of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Why do you not try to 
please him to whom you owe every blessing ? 
I am sure you can give no good reason for not 
doing so. You are as old as Josiah was when he 
was made king over Israel ; and yet though he 
was exalted so high, and had so many to wait 
upon him, he did not forget the Lord God of 
his fathers, but 'did that which was right in 
the sight of the Lord.' You might commit 
some of this story to memory." 

To his brother W he writes at this time : 

" I do not apprehend that our parents will 
regret that Brother J did not go to college. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 109 

In my own view, it matters little what a man's 
occupation is, so long as it is an honest means 
of obtaining a living, and there is no situation 
in which we may not be useful if rightly dis- 
posed. It is in vain to locate happiness. The 
man who possesses the condition of mind for 
true happiness, whether a king on the throne, or 
the most abject slave in the realm, will be happy. 
A conscious rectitude of motive in all we do, 
the approbation of our hearts and of God, 
constitute the condition to which I allude. 
In regard to your future plans, I presume you 
have settled into a waiting posture. At one 
time, when I had no business responsibility, 
I felt free from anxiety, and as light hearted 
as one could desire. My leisure was engrossed 
in reading, writing to my friends, or any useful 
employment. Now, when I come home at 
night, I cannot wholly divest myself of the 
cares of business. I do not mean however to 
let the pursuit of worldly good, at any time, 
divert my attention from thoughts and prepara- 
tions for a future state. Depend upon it, if 
we look no farther than this world, we shall 
be the gainers by rendering to the Lord what 
he requires at our hand. It was the experi- 
ence of Sir Matthew Hale, that, the more 
10 



110 MEMORIALS OF 

scrupulous he was in keeping the Sabbath 
holy, the better his worldly business prospered. 
I once knew a man who was so scrupulous in 
this- observance of the Sabbath, that on one 
occasion when a vessel that he owned, and 
which had been out much beyond her usual 
time, arrived on Sabbath morning, and news 
was brought to him of the fact, he entirely 
abstained from paying any attention to it till 
the Sabbath was over. His house fronted 
upon the harbor, where the vessel lay at anchor ; 
but he chose to deny himself the gratification 
of looking out of his window, and sat with his 
back toward the water through the day. Such 
conduct you might perhaps call austerity, but 
it was a noble example, and deserves to be 
recorded. You must not expect me to be punc- 
tual in reply, as my time is not always at my 
command." 

To the same brother he writes again : — 

" I have for a few days past had much pleas- 
ant intercourse with Mr. Charles Stewart, who, 
you will recollect. He has just returned from 
the Sandwich Islands, by way of England, on 
account of the ill health of his wife. This ill 
health is attributed rather to the hardships they 



CHARLES STODDARD. \\\ 

have undergone, than to any want of salubrity 
in the climate, but these hardships are daily 
diminishing. Mr. Stewart remarked to me that 
the house his family resided in was twelve feet 
square, and nine feet from the ground to the 
ridge-pole. This is a sample of the dwellings 
of the missionaries. They are better provided 
for now, but none of them have frame-houses. 
Mr. Stewart says he lived two years in the 
house with Mr. Richards and his wife, and 
during that time he never saw a look, or heard 
an expression, that indicated a discontented 
frame of mind; on the contrary, ever a con- 
sciousness that they had acted rightly in em- 
barking on this mission. The success that has 
attended the efforts of missionaries in the Sand- 
wich Islands has awakened in me great inter- 
est, nor can I fail to set a high estimate on 
that holy principle which moves the missionary 
to leave kindred and friends, home and native 
country, for the purpose of executing the com- 
mission, ' Go ye into all the world.' 

" Last Sunday I heard three sermons from 
three doctors in divinity, — Dr. Woods of 
Andover, Dr. Beecher, and Dr. Griffin. I am 
inclined to believe that Christians have yet to 
learn a principle of immense value, — that sue- 



112 MEMORIALS OF 

cess, in the application of religious truth, will 
be in proportion to the amount of appropriate 
means used. If a farmer cultivate five of his ten 
acres, he has a reason to expect a return from 
Him who has promised to give the increase. 
He would be very unwise, however, to expect all 
his land would bring forth when only half was 
cultivated. These sentiments are in perfect 
accordance with the truth, that the greatest 
efforts will be ineffectual without the blessing 
of God. 

" In a letter received recently from you, I 
judge that an epidemic prevails in Northamp- 
ton ; and I perceive in you the symptoms of 
the disorder, and so sit down in the midst of 
business enough to almost derange . even a well- 
balanced mind, to prescribe for you, as is my 
custom in such cases. To be plain, I am an 
enemy to purchasing estate except in certain 
cases. When land is sought for, as you say, 
then is the time to sell, not to buy. The cases, 
in which purchasing of real estate in a place 
like Northampton is desirable, are, being thirty 
years of age, having cash to pay for the same, 
and a wife and family, and no house to be 
rented under ten or twelve per cent." 

I find in his note-book, where he used to 



CHARLES STODDARD. 113 

record marked events, that in the year 1832 he 
made the following entry : — 

" This year has been, in some respects, 
more eventful than any before ; for in it com- 
menced my acquaintance with Mrs. Mary Por- 
ter, widow of Rev. William Porter, professor in 
Williams College, and daughter of Hon. Daniel 
Noble of Williamstown. This acquaintance 
grew into affection ; and she is now my wife, for 
which I would devoutly thank God." 

In reply to a letter from his brother W , 

he says : — 

" Deah W., — I thank you most heartily for 
your congratulations and good wishes, in regard 
to my proposed connection with Mrs. Porter. 
I am happy to say that the engagement seems 
to give universal satisfaction to my friends in 
this region. Indeed, if I were not so old, I 
should blush at some things which have been 
said to me, touching the merits of the lady 
whom I full highly esteem. People are apt to 
speak in superlatives, and, like Jonathan's ar- 
row, go beyond, yet in respect to her I think 
you will find her friendship of no ordinary 
value." . . . 
10* 



114 MEMORIALS OF 

The engagement which has just been an- 
nounced, and which was a matter of such warm 
congratulation among his relatives, was con- 
summated in August, 1832, by a quiet marriage, 
at the early home of his bride, in Williams- 
town, Mass. Her father, Hon. Daniel Noble, 
was not at this time living, but her mother 
with the children occupied the homestead. 

The married pair set out at once, on a circuit- 
ous journey of three or four weeks, by carriage, 
for Boston, where, after a few weeks' of prepa- 
ration, they were established at housekeeping. 

Mrs. Porter had one child, and to this little 
girl my father gave at once and always the 
fond love and devotion of a parent. In speak- 
ing of the habit of learning hymns, he writes 
to his wife, in connection with the education of 
this child, " Among other means made use of 
to interest my mind in the subject of religion, 
none was so impressive as learning hymns. 
Perhaps I had a natural fondness for verses, 
though I am inclined to think, owing to the 
pains taken when young, was the subsequent 
pleasure I took in committing and repeating 
hymns." 

As I write, how vividly do I recall my fath- 
er's habit of repeating hymns in the morning ! 



CHARLES STODDARD. 115 

I believe lie refreshed his mind in this way while 
dressing, but after he came from his study of 
the Bible, and was walking the parlor before 
breakfast, some hymn of praise was sure to be 
on his lips. He always preferred those of a 
triumphant tone, and those expressive of praise 
to God. One of Addison's was a favorite : — 

"When all thy mercies, O my God! 
My rising soul surveys, 
Transported with the view, I'm lost 
In wonder, love, and praise." 

He has repeated this by the bedside of an 
aged friend despondent from weakness and 
trial, and still found it appropriate. The 
faith and strength which his own confident 
trust in God's promises imparted to others, 
only those really know who in trials experi- 
enced it. His will was so brought under con- 
trol, that from the abiding rest thus obtained 
he could give to those who needed. How 
often in the weary hours of a lingering illness 
did he come to me with hope and comfort! 
Like sunshine and the fresh air to the sufferer 
shut away from these blessings were his visits 
of rest and refreshment. Dark clouds vanished ; 
or on them to his eye was painted the bow of 



116 MEMORIALS OF 

hope, and through his sunshine and hope, others 
were cheered. 

In writing to his wife from whom he w r as 
absent for a time this year, he thus speaks of 
some of his employments and interests : — 

"I have heard Rev. Mr. Danforth preach in 
behalf of the Colonization Society. I was 
much interested in his discourse. He is a man 
of commanding appearance, dignified and sol- 
emn in his address, and writes finely, if I could 
judge from this specimen. He dwelt on the 
wrongs of Africa, the efforts of Wilberforce 
and his coadjutors in the British Parliament 
continued for twenty years and finally success- 
ful, 4 to wash the last stain of blood from the 
escutcheon of England.' For a popular New 
England audience, I should think it was rather 
too learned, and gave too little information with 
regard to the society. 

" The foreign mission meeting, on Thursday 
evening, closed our week of anniversaries, and 
was by far the most interesting to me. The 
Boston society, I have been treasurer of for 
many years. Last year we raised $5,900, this 
year $8,700, owing to personal labors in this 
cause. I am inclined to the opinion that this 



CHARLES STODDARD. 117 

year, in religious matters, we are experiencing 
the reaction from efforts made last year in which 
there was excitement. This however goes to 
show how little religion Christians really possess. 
So long as they are stimulated by the action or 
example of others, they run well ; but take off 
this external pressure and they cease to pro- 
gress. Let us raise our voices, which, though 
feeble, may prevail at the court of heaven, and 
advance the kingdom of the Redeemer. 

"For your note of the 17th, I thank you. 
You say 4 you range me among the lovers of 
natural scenery.' It is a luxury to me to inhale 
the sweet atmosphere of the green fields and 
sequestered forest. I love rural scenery, and 
could, as you say, wander among these illustra- 
tions of the handiwork of Jehovah and contem- 
plate them without fatigue. My taste leads me 
to a home in the country, but I have been con- 
vinced there was more scope for service to the 
Master in the populous towns." 

In a letter to his mother-in-law, he says : — 

" Since I saw you I have been a far wanderer 
from the loved ones here. But Mary does not 
think I have altered in consequence of coming 
in contact with the great ones in the city of 



118 MEMORIALS OF 

Washington. It is certain that absence from 
home only makes it more pleasant to return. 
We should delight, after the foliage has put 
forth, and nature has put on its wonted summer 
loveliness, to look in upon you, and perhaps we 
may. I do not feel that it is wise to mark out 
many plans for the future, for there are so many 
contingencies and uncertainties that they are 
very liable to be frustrated by unforeseen occur- 
rences. You, dear madam, have experienced 
the truth of these remarks in your own case, 
but yet you can, I doubt not, see much of 
mercy and loving kindness mingled in your cup, 
and will honor God by cheerfully receiving 
from his hand the allotments of his providence. 
" Very respectfully and affectionately. 

"0. S." 

In 1834, my father visited Washington, and 
writing to his wife says : — 

" How is my dearest wife ? Your letter of 
the 23d is the only one as yet received, and 
though a week old is none the less valuable 
on that account. I went yesterday to make a 
call on a gentleman, who, when hearing whom 
I had married, said, ' Indeed ! is it possible ? 
I like you a great deal better for that.' A 



CHARLES STODDARD. 119 

short journey, he said, had been all his acquaint- 
ance with your family, but so pleasant had 
been his impressions he had not forgotten 
them. I heard Mr. Sprague from Maine 
make a powerful speech on the bank question. 
He is a young man, but an impressive speaker, 
and has, I think, the right of the argument. I 
have heard Mr. Webster twice, and he is alto- 
gether superior to any speaker here. Indeed he 
is admitted to be so by those whom I have met 
here, and Mr. Clay is said to be second. Some 
make speeches to have them printed and sent 
home, that their constituents may know that 
they are great men, and exert a commanding 
influence here. Some for other reasons ho 
better than this, and I presume no one is con- 
vinced by speeches. The talents of a public 
speaker here seem to be estimated by the time 
he occupies so that it is felt almost necessary 
to spin out a speech through two days. There 
was a time when the talents of a minister were 
estimated by the length of his prayer, and to 
say that he could pray two hours was the high- 
est compliment that could be paid to his talents. 
Such is not the case at the present day, but he 
who can crowd many thoughts into small space 
is justly regarded as the most able. 



120 MEMORIALS OF 

" I have been twice to the office to-day hoping 
for letters, but none have come. I have had 
a short interview with Gov. Cass, who is at the 
head of the war department, and probably the 
best disposed of any of the executive officers of 
government. He has abolished Sabbath marches, 
and put a stop to rum in the army. I took tea 
last evening with Mr. and Mrs. Gurley. They 
desired a remembrance to you. Mr. Gurley is 
as much engaged as ever in his colonization 
cause, indeed I think he will never leave it. 
In closing this letter, my dear, I commend you 
to a covenant-keeping God. Safely upheld by 
his protection, may you have grace to honor 
and please him in all things ! Frequent fer- 
vent prayer, is the surest remedy for spiritual 
sloth, and I hope and believe that a diligent 
discharge of all our duties brings its own 
reward." 

Again he writes from Washington to his 
wife : — 

44 4 Peace be to my absent friend ! ' I have 
tried to copy from the impression on your seal ; 
the dove with the olive-branch I cannot so 
easily sketch : yet will I repeat the wish, yea, 
and turn it into a prayer, 4 Peace to my absent 



CHARLES STODDARD. 121 

friend.' I find the days very short, and want 
to write to communicate some of the pleasant 
things that I have met with, but I cannot find 
time. I dine to-night at five o'clock, with 
Mr. Everett and a few members of Congress, 
and am engaged to spend the evening at two 
places. 

u Yesterday I spent three hours in the 
Senate of the United States. I heard Mr. 
Frelinghuysen make a short speech. He spoke 
extremely well, and I felt conscious that I 
was hearing an honest man. Mr. Forsyth of 
Georgia also spoke. He seemed a man of 
talent, though not a powerful speaker. I 
heard several others who said a few words, 
and I became acquainted with the faces of 
many distinguished men.' 

"I have completely succeeded in the objects 
of my journey, and shall expect to leave for 
home on Saturday." 

Another letter to his wife follows written 
on a subsequent journey with his son. He 

says : — 

"I have been delighted to-day with the 
music of the birds which are very numerous 
here. Their notes are full and melodious, and 
11 



122 MEMORIALS OF 

they seem to sing with a will, as the sailors 
would say. The wren and the martins are 
abundant, and the blue-bird. The grass-bird, 
or ground-bird, is a plain brown and unpre- 
tending bird, which makes its nest on or in 
the ground. It has a note most captivating 
to hear. I have not since being here seen any 
one do harm to any living animal. The birds 
are to be seen everywhere, but no one molests 
them. 

"I anticipate many pleasant things on my 
return to my family. I think in various ways 
we may improve ourselves, and our children 
too. You must not be backward in telling me 
my faults from time to time, so that I may 
improve. One thing I think we may all safely 
practise, viz., to cherish an habitual feeling of 
gratitude to God. His goodness never ceases. 
It knows no bounds, and we are always in 
circumstances where the exercise of gratitude 
and thanksgiving are appropriate. To praise 
God is a delightful occupation, if we love him. 
The angels never tire in praising him, and 
David's Psalms are mostly psalms of praise. 
' I will sing praise to my God while I have my 
being. My meditations of him shall be sweet. 
I will be glad in the Lord.' 






CHARLES STODDARD. 123 

The letters to his brother David are con- 
tinued at intervals, and from the extracts 
given, it can be seen with what a deep interest 
he watched the course of this brother. 

" Dear D., — I have thought of you with 
unusual interest since you have been placed in 
new circumstances, by 3^our entrance upon 
college life, and I have felt desirous of saying 
a few things to you from the overflowing of 
brotherly affection. Half my age is about 
equal to yours, and I must have been a dull 
scholar not to have made some observations 
of a practical and highly important character, 
the result of personal experience. I have been 
a dull scholar, it is true, and, considering my 
age and advantages, have made but poor profi- 
ciency. I would counsel you, in general, to be 
thorough in every thing. If you have a lesson 
to get, be sure you get it perfectly ; if you 
have any business on hand to do, let it be 
thoroughly done. There are few habits more 
common among young men, than that of being 
superficial, but the mind cannot rest satisfied 
with a partial or incomplete effort. Leave no 
subject till you understand it. You will infer 
that I wish you to attain good scholarship. I 



124 MEMORIALS OF 

do, yet not chiefly for the sake of credit with 
others, but for the good influence it will exert 
on your own character. 

" Thus far had I written when I attended 
the meeting of the A. B. C. F. M., at Utica. I 
should have been at Williamstown to pass 
Sunday, had it not been so dark and rainy. I 
hope you will be watchful in regard to your 
Sabbaths. The habits you now form are of 
great importance, as t\iQj will cleave to you. 
You will be estimated, classified, and ranked, 
in college, nor is it desirable to shrink from 
it. Only be decided for God. Dare to be 
singular. Go fearlessly forward in the sim- 
ple discharge of duty, and God will bless 
you. 

I recommend to you to begin now, and con- 
tinue the habit to manhood, and indeed through 
life, of keeping an account of all }^our expendi- 
tures, whether great or small. This will disci- 
pline your mind, and aid you to acquire accuracy 
in every thing. It will also teach you to be 
prudent, a most important habit to form. You 
may try various sources of happiness, but none 
will ever yield the satisfaction which can be 
compared with a conscientious endeavor to 
serve Christ. Amiable though you are, and 



CHARLES STODDARD. 125 

lovely in the eyes of your friends, (and in 
none more than mine), yet you need something 
more; and I shall not cease to lift up my 
warning voice, until either Christ i Q formed 
in. you the hope of glory, or that voice is 
cold and silent in death. I wish you would 
write me all about your situation and circum- 
stances." 

Again he writes : — 

"Dear Bkotheb, D., — You ask my views 
in regard to secret societies. I have never 
thought those in college alarming, and have 
supposed a secret committed to a dozen or 
more young men was no secret at all. If you 
have conducted the discussion and organization 
of your society with the temperance and pru- 
dence which your letter indicates, I should 
think you had done no harm, and perhaps some 
good. 

" You ask me to c remember that students are 
proverbially careless,' as an excuse for your 
negligence. Brother, I advise you to let excuses 
alone through life. They always imply fault. 
They are always out of place. They never 
need be given when we do our duty. ' A man 
that is good for making excuses is generally 



126 MEMORIALS OF 

good for nothing else.' ... I shall hope to hear 
from you during the vacation. 

" Your very affectionate brother, 

" Chahles." 

Again, three months later, among many wise, 
loving letters, I select part of one : — 

" Dear D., — That you obtain a first-rate 
education is my sincere desire. It will prepare 
you for influence in the world, and, if sancti- 
fied, for extensive usefulness. I have never 
wished to conceal from you that my chief 
desire on your behalf was, that you might 
become a real Christian, thoroughly devoted to 
God, and as a fruit of such consecration, exert 
all your powers for the promotion of his glory. 
Mother made us a very pleasant visit after you 
left the city, and father came down and passed 
ten days pleasantly here. I think they both 
were gratified by the visit. 

" Your affectionate brother, 
"C.S." 

A change, on various accounts, was deemed 
desirable, and David was transferred, at the 
end of his freshman year, to Yale College, to 
which place my father writes in 1836 : — 



CHARLES STODDARD. 127 

" Dear D., — I hear that you are a good 
scholar at Yale College. There are clangers 
attendant on such a rank in a class, which I 
will specify. 1. Pride and vanity, being puffed 
up as superior to others. 2. Running down 
piety by study. 3. Failure of health, result- 
ing from too close application to study. 

64 Now that you have entered the service of 
Christ, I want you should live long and do 
much for him. In order to do this, build up a 
rugged constitution, attend to exercise and 
diet. It appears from your letter, that the 
question, c What is my duty in reference to the 
heathen world ? ' has been before your mind for 
some time. I will say to you frankly, that if, 
with a full view of the case before you, and 
after long contemplating the subject, you come 
to the conclusion that you ought to go, I shall 
not interpose any obstacle, but bid you 4 God 
speed,' rejoicing that to one of my brothers is 
granted such an unspeakable privilege. You 
have yet two years more at college, and three 
years in the theological seminary, in order to 
make you a, - workman that needeth not to be 
ashamed.' Let us interchange letters fre- 
quently, and stir up each other to increased 
fidelity in the Master's service." 



128 MEMORIALS OF 

Again the same year he writes : — - 

" Dear Brother, — The brief season I had 
with you at New Haven was very pleasant 
indeed. I rejoice to greet you as a Christian 
brother, and to give you the right hand of fel- 
lowship. Go on, dear brother, and cease not to 
press towards the mark of your high calling. 
Perhaps no external means of growth in piety, 
more effectual, could have been selected, than 
benevolent efforts such as you are engaged in 
while visiting and conversing with the sick. 
It will furnish a relief from study, and fre- 
quent errands at the throne of grace. 

" Within two hours an interesting company of 
thirty-two missionaries have set sail from this 
port, for the Sandwich Islands. They were 
affectionately commended to God in prayer by 
Dr. Jenks on board the ship, and in the pres- 
ence of a large company of people, and an 
appropriate hymn was sung. They have a pros- 
pect of a long voyage of four to six months, 
and doubtless will be subjected to hardships to 
which many of them have hitherto been little 
accustomed. Yet, if they go in the strength 
of Jehovah and with devoted hearts, God will 
give them strength according to their day. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 129 

About two weeks since a company of fourteen 
very promising missionaries sailed for the 
Tamul mission, and early in January a com- 
pany is expected to proceed to the Western 
Asia mission. The committee are sending 
these missionaries because the united voice of 
the Church seems to call for it, and it i« in the 
hope that the necessary means will be fur- 
nished by the churches for the large expendi- 
tures of the Board. I believe the cause of 
missions is the cause of God, and that he will 
not suffer it to decay or decline. His is the 
silver and the gold, and he can call it forth 
when he needs it, and who are they that refuse 
when the Lord hath need?" 

These letters, taken from a large correspond- 
ence with David, are indications simply of 
what was ever in my father's heart, and as 
the months passed away, they produced an 
effect on his brother's mind, which developed 
in his determination to consecrate his life as a 
foreign missionary. That my father had such 
a definite end in view when writing, we have 
no reason for saying ; yet his is an example of 
some weight for others. He loved the work of 
missions heartily. With that love he spoke 



130 MEMORIALS, OF 

and wrote of it ; and the result was but reason- 
able. He inspired with a like love those who 
believed in and loved him. 

In another letter to his brother, he says : — 

" Dear David, — I gather from your letters, 
as well as from the number of your students, 
that you are full of occupation ; probably as 
much so as is consistent with the preservation 
of your health. 

" Now what I would recommend, and, if I 
were your father would enjoin upon you is, 
that you undertake less, particularly that you 
should not overtask yourself on the day of 
rest. When I was superintendent of Fort Hill 
Sabbath school, I u§ed to spend from three to 
four hours in the school each Sabbath, and 
then go to church with the scholars, and sit 
with them and take charge of them in the 
upper gallery. This I did for six years, nor at 
the time was I aware that I was doing myself 
an injury. My present opinion is, that I re- 
ceived from this undue and uncalled-for labor 
a permanent injury which will remain with me 
while I live. Not that I am infirm or diseased. 
On the contrary, I have occasion to thank God 
for good health ; but, on the Sabbath, if I attend 



CHARLES STODDARD. 131 

a third service, exert myself a little more in 
the Sabbath school, or even if the discourses 
take hold of my feelings, I am subject to a 
restless night, and a dull Monday. While I 
desire that you should throw all your energies 
into the holy work of glorifying God, I would 
have you as free as possible from the ills flesh is 
heir to. 

" Your affectionate brother, 

"C. S." 

My father so firmly believed in keeping the 
body well, in order to give the mind opportu- 
nity to accomplish its work, that he was ready 
to use his now much-employed time in pointing 
out a course of health-giving exercise to his 
brother W. 

" Have you the dyspepsia ? ' Why ? ' do you 
ask ? In a letter written from New York, you 
accounted for the sombre character of the first 
part of it by saying, ' It was written before 
dinner : I feel better now.' Does not this look 
like dyspepsia ? I advise you to dig your gar- 
den, saw and split your wood, and use much 
active exercise ; live on simplicity simplified. 

" Who would like to be our friend D. W., in 
a physical sense ? And who would not like to 



132 MEMORIALS OF 

be as lie is, in a spiritual view ? I have been 
so uniformly well for years that I may perhaps 
justly be called a theorist ; yet I have not fo-i 
years kept indigestion farther off than arm's 
length. I make but little progress in the im- 
portant science of self-knowledge, but yet I 
find out something about myself, that was un- 
observed before, every year. Little as you 
have supposed me capable of excitement, I 
have found myself influenced by it. 

"I am sometimes overcome, and sometimes 
lose my strength for the moment, by hearing 
some slanderous remark, and I find it expedient 
to keep cool and quiet on all occasions, lest I 
should do something or say something which 
afterwards I might regret. The tongue is an 
unruly member, and when our own views are 
not adopted by those around us, we may feel 
badly, and unless doubly guarded, may speak 
hastily. Meekness is a passive trait, but greatly 
exemplified in the life of our Redeemer. Meek- 
ness, humility, lowliness of heart, are traits we 
should possess, but in our day, far too little 
regarded. I am sure we cannot be Christ's 
disciples while we find fault with the motives 
of others, and say hard things of them. I find 
it necessary to check myself for faults like 



CHARLES STODDARD. 133 

these, and I hope, by divine help, to gain the 
victory over them. I am anxious to have pre- 
pared, for the family meeting, a religious his- 
tory of each of the brothers and sisters. Will 
you do your part ? Can you suggest any thing 
that I can do to make father and mother 
happy? Will you see that our parents are 
provided with all things needful for cold 
weather ? " 

Then follows a letter to this brother in his 
humorous vein. 

" Dear W., — On my return from New 
York on« Saturday, I found your letter of the 
29th, containing a long apology for a neglect, 
on your part, to pay the hackman who took 
you to the railroad. This is the second letter 
I have received from you, on the same subject 
since your return, and each letter enclosed the 
money, so that you have sent it twice ; putting 
me to the trouble of returning it to you, and 
of writing this letter when I am quite tired, 
for which I have quite a mind to charge you a 
lawyer's fee of one dollar. I fear you have 
been kept awake at night by a fear that you 
had not paid your hack-hire in Boston (or only 
paid it once), and perhaps you have been com- 

12 



134 CHARLES STODDARD. 

pellecl to resort to anodynes to restore sweet 
and balmy sleep to your anxious mind. If you 
find any difficulty in composing yourself, after 
this is received, you can put this under your 
pillow, and I feel confident it will soothe you. 

" As to the hack-hire father incurred, I can- 
not think the driver would charge such a re- 
spectable-looking gentleman any thing, and if 
he does bring in a bill, I shall infer that in his 
haste he did not attentively consider whom he 
carried. I return you the double money found 
in your sack's mouth, and twenty-five cents for 
interest, since I pay for carriages only quar- 
terly, and have not yet paid for yours. 
" Yours affectionately, 

" O. S." 



V. 

HOME LIFE. 

X833. 

rT^HE life of my father was eminently that 
-*- of a private citizen. He never was will- 
ing to accept any political or municipal office. 
Yet for this reason, perhaps, the extent of his 
influence was more surprising. 

This marked influence on others was also felt 
in the family, where he impressed the singleness 
of his aim upon his home, and led each one to 
respect and fall in with the main purpose of his 
life. 

To look into this period, we may go for illus- 
trations to his " note-book," where are recorded, 
in few words, such incidents as the births of 
his children, facts which are to us examples of 
his hospitality, together with noticeable events 
in his family and social life. 

In the record which he kept of marked 
events, personal, domestic, and social, I find the 
following entries, which are not inserted in their 
precise chronological order : — 

135 



136 MEMORIALS OF 

" In commencing the discharge of our duties 
towards the little daughter of my wife, who by 
this marriage has become one of our family, we 
desire to feel that this dear child is lent to us 
to be trained up for God. For her we would 
desire that, by first giving her heart to the Lord, 
she may become qualified for eminent useful- 
ness in the world." 

In the May following, I find the entry : — 

" This day our son was born, a precious boon, 
committed to us to be educated for heaven. 
May his heart be early renewed, and his life 
devoted to the service of his Saviour ! " 

More than two years later, he records as a 
special mercy the birth of a daughter, and 
believes that God addresses to him the direction 
given by Pharaoh's daughter, to the mother of 
Moses, " Take this child, and nurse it for me, 
and I will give thee wages." The baptisms of 
his son and infant daughter, the one by Dr. 
Skinner of New York, the other by Dr. Cod- 
man of Dorchester, are also noted. 

The severe illnesses of his children are men- 
tioned, with a few grateful words on their recov- 
ery. " We must render thanks to Almighty 



CHARLES STODDARD. 137 

God for his great goodness in sparing the life 
of this dear child, which, for a season, was 
hardly expected." 

On his son's second birthday he wrote a 
loving little note to the child, which, although 
neither read nor comprehended then, afterwards 
deeply impressed the lad with his father's high- 
est longings for him, which began thus with his 
earliest years : — 

" My son ! I greet you to-day, on the second 
anniversary of your birth, with joy and thank- 
fulness. Your sprightliness has much increased 
since your last birthday. - The blood runs 
swiftly through your veins. A tiny delight fills 
you with joy. You are pleased with a bauble. 
Your mother and I talk about you when you 
are sleeping in your little bed. We think of 
you as a child of promise. Do not disappoint 
our hopes. If you should depart from God, and 
follow sinful pleasures, it would take away all 
our happiness. 

4 My son ! know thou the Lord ; 
Thy father's God obey.' " 

From your Dear Father. 

12* 



138 MEMORIALS OF 

The first letter I find to my brother is in 
May, 1834. It is carefully printed ; and at the 
head of it a small engraving is pasted on to the 
paper, representing Jesus as blessing little chil- 
dren, with the words beneath, " Suffer little 
children to come unto me." 

" To DEAR C , on his birthday: — 

" Our dear boy is one year old to-day. We 
love him much, and he loves us a little. So far 
he has not been sick. God has watched over 
him and kept him well. We hope your sister 
will learn to love the Saviour, and lead brother 
Charles to him. 

1 ' * For though he is not here below, 
But on his heavenly hill, 
To him may little children go, 
' And seek a blessing still.' 

" Your Fathjer, C. S." 

The eldest daughter, at an early age went 
away to a family-school in company with one or 
or two companions, the daughters of intimate 
friends. 

He writes 'to her on her birthday, " I might 
put down how many hours and minutes you 
have lived, but I will not do this, but suggest 



CHARLES STODDARD. 139 

the pleasure you would feel if you could look 
back upon a whole year spent in the service 
of God. I long to have you enjoy the calm 
and peace felt where God's love reigns in the 
heart. You are eight years old, and we love 
you tenderly, and pray for you, that this year 
you may walk in wisdom's happy path. I have 
some tokens of affection to send you. 

" Your Affectionate Father." 

As I turn over the letters, the paper below 
falls out with its date : — 

"A father's wishes. 

" That E. may begin this Sabbath by asking 
the blessing of God. 

" That she may improve its sacred hours. 

" That she may be cheerful and happy in all 
its duties. 

" That she may end it with a song of praise." 

I find also this : " Our kind Benefactor has 
preserved your health another year. Cultivate 
the habit of gratitude for daily mercies. On 
your birthday, it is good to give gifts. Try to 
make others happy. May you become a child 
of God ! " 

He mentions, in these years, the visits in his 



140 MEMORIALS OF 

family of "Rev. Mr. Coan, going to Patagonia 
to ascertain the expediency of establishing a 
mission there ; " also of " Rev. James Mathew- 
son of Durham, England. During his visit we 
enjoyed much from his intelligent, agreeable 
conversation. We parted with regret, he being 
about to embark for his native land." He 
notices the visits of various members of his 
own and of his wife's family. His genial hos- 
pitality is remembered and spoken of to his 
children by his early guests. He had the art 
of making those who visited him feel at home, 
and did not weary them with too assiduous 
care. 

"Feb. 13, 1835. — I record a most solemn 
event in the providence of God, which, although 
not strictly a family occurrence, has yet ab- 
sorbed much of my thoughts and attention for 
several days past. This is the sudden sickness 
and death of Dr. Wisner. On Tuesday evening 
lie attended the weekly meeting of the pruden- 
tial committee, and appeared unusually animated 
and well. On Thursday he sent for a physi- 
cian, and on Monday he died of scarlet fever. 
c I was dumb : I opened not my mouth, because 
Thou didst it.' " 



CHARLES STODDARD. 141 

This was a great affliction to my father. Dr. 
Wisner had been his spiritual guide, and he 
felt grateful for the tender and faithful interest 
which, as such, he ever manifested towards 
himself. 

Dr. Wisner, on his part, evinced great satis- 
faction in the confiding friendship of my father, 
whose Christian growth he fully appreciated. 
My father showed his attachment to Dr. Wis 
ner by thoughtful attentions to his widow, who 
found him, even to the close of her long life, 
a helpful, sympathetic friend. The letters ex- 
changed between Dr. Wisner and my father 
were few, but personal intercourse and mutual 
service drew the two closely together as Chris- 
tians. 

Among these notes I find this entry : — 

" In July, 1837, we united with, our brothers 
and sisters in the delightful meeting [of the 
Stoddard family, at Northampton] which con- 
tinued until the 30th of August." 

For this meeting each member of the family 
was requested to prepare a personal historj^, 
more or less full, relating to matters of religious 
experience, that they might aid each other in 



142 MEMORIALS OF 

the heavenward journey. These statements 
were read at this meeting. 

In the autumn of the same year, he mentions 
a meeting of missionaries at his house, before 
embarking in the ship " Saracen " for Madras, 
as an item of special interest, and their names 
are given. 

Several years later, when absent from home 
he wrote to his son as follows : — 

" Dear C, — I send in a bundle some letter- 
paper, also a small book for you to preserve 
pretty leaves in. The way to preserve them 
is to take a green leaf, and lay it for a while 
between two pieces of blotting-paper, with a 
book on it to press it down. When it is quite 
dry, it can be fastened to the leaf of the book, 

as I fasten a leaf on this letter. Miss S 

will assist you. You might collect a great 
variety of leaves, and have their names written 
under them in the book; we call the book a 
folium. You have a large place in which to 
play, and fine mountain air, and I hope you 
will come back with better health than when 
you went away. How well have you learned 
to use your hoe, rake, and spade? How do 
you progress with your lessons? Does my dear 



CHARLES STODDARD. 143 

boy always remember to lift up his heart to 
God in prayer, every morning and evening? 
The dear Saviour loves you, and is willing to 
make you his child, and give you a holy heart, 
if you only ask him." 

On a visit to New York he writes to him 
thus : — 

" While I remain in this city, I live in a great 
house called the Astor House ; I send a picture 
of it. At the dinner-table about one hundred 
sit down. Men smoke in the halls and entries, 
which is not pleasant to me. 

" This city is much larger than Boston. It is 
not so clean. There are many wicked people 
here, who swear, and break the Sabbath, and are 
on the road to hell. There are also many good 
people here, who labor to do good ; and there 
are many Sunday-school children." 

During these years a sister-in-law, to whom 
he was much attached, became an inmate of 
the family, spending her school vacations at his 
house. She had been a journey with him, to 
which he refers in the following letter : — 

u Dear F., —Nearly two months have passed 
since we parted at Albany, at the termina- 
tion of our pleasant journey to the West,— 



144 MEMORIALS OF 

a journey we shall look back upon with in- 
terest. . . . 

" We are without our children. As yet the 
weather has been quite warm. Everything in 
and about the house looks pleasant, and there 
seems to be a good supply of grapes. We shall 
hope to have your presence before the vintage. 
My honored father has made us a visit, and has 
just left us for Northampton. . . . Your re- 
marks on Butler's Analogy are interesting, par- 
ticularly as you speak of the manner in which 
the young ladies study this profound work. 
Female minds are as able to grasp difficult sub- 
jects as those of men ; at least the negative of 
the question can never be proved until they 
have had equal advantages and a fair trial for a 
series of generations." 

A little later he writes her : — 

"Dear F., — I think you have doubtless 
heard me express the conviction that a young 
lady, with a thorough education and real piety, 
is qualified for extensive usefulness in the 
world. I have desired that you should be 
placed in circumstances favorable to the devel- 
opment of your mental powers, and it has 
appeared to me that you have made good 



CHARLES STODDARD. 145 

improvement of your opportunities. It seems 
important that you should have another year 
of uninterrupted study. Dear friend, you will 
be poorly prepared for either the sunshine of 
prosperity, or the stormy season of trial, unless 
you have a refuge above this changing scene. 
It is desirable that you should launch your 
bark with a helm and compass. May you 
secure a heavenly treasure this coming season! 
I anticipate much from you, should your life 
be spared; and do not doubt that you will 
progress rapidly at school. I trust you will 
never be influenced by a desire to stand first 
as a scholar, merely that you should be noticed 
and obtain the highest honors, but rather that 
you may be useful and have increased means 
of doing good." 

Again, in November, he writes : — 

" To-day we have a deep, pelting snow-storm. 
All nature wears the livery of winter. The 
blast howls without, and fire is more than ever 
necessary within. The streets are filled with 
sleighs, and the merry sleigh-bells announce 
the return of the appropriate season. And all 
this change in one short week ! almost in one 
short day, for it is but little more ; fit emblem 

13 



146 MEMORIALS OF 

of the changing character of earthly happiness. 
Dear sister, you are in the spring-time of life, 
buoyant and happy, cheerfully pursuing your 
work ; and yet I would fain hope you will be 
wise for yourself, and secure a treasure beyond 
the reach of these changing scenes. The win- 
ter of life will come, and a chill dreary scene 
it is to those that have not this Friend, this 
hope. You are remembered often in our home, 
by us all, with affection." 

Letters to his brothers, when quite young, 
that have been already given, show how early 
he began to manifest his interest in them, and 
to exert his influence over them. It was a 
habit with him, to communicate with his chil- 
dren by letters, sometimes enlivened by a 
picture and a few printed words to attract 
them, and as they grew older, earnest notes 
were left iri their rooms, for them to open 
thoughtfully in quietness. He did not think 
it beneath his dignity to detail plainly, so that 
the children could understand, some of his 
experiences in journeys that he took with his 
wife at various seasons. When they grew 
older, he invited them to be his companions, 
giving this pleasure to them as a part of their 



CHARLES STODDARD. 147 

education. Indeed, we always felt it was our 
duty to read beforehand as a preparation, and 
to write down day by day, during the absence, 
in order to receive all the benefit my father 
designed. 

On one of these journeys he wrote to my 
brother, then six years old : — 

" My dear Son", — I suppose your uncle 
E told you of our pleasant ride to Pitts- 
field by starlight. It was a warm night, and a 
delightful ride to me. The planet Venus ros& 
about one o'clock, and gave us much light, 
something like the moon, but less. When we 
reached Pittsfield, we had much labor to wake 
the people up at the public house. I remained 
there about two hours,- and then set out for 
Boston. I rode twenty-three miles in the stage, 
over a hilly road. We saw large quantities 
of red berries, and at one time I walked a 
while and gathered some. At Chester, we took 
the cars. In the neighborhood of Chester, they 
are making a ; deep cut ' through the solid 
rock of the mountain. They drill a hole with a 
sharp iron, and then put in powder and stop it 
up, and set fire to it. This goes off like a 
gun, and is called blasting. It is slow work. 



148 MEMORIALS OF 

I saw another curious steam-engine for digging 
gravel, which took up a load at one shovel-full, 
and put it on a dirt-car which moved off, and 
another car came up to be loaded in the same 
way. I trust my dear boy will make his grand- 
mother as little trouble as possible, and in all 
things conform to her wishes. I did not say 
any thing to you about eating unripe fruit, but 
I would remind you of the grave of the little 
girl in Northampton, who died Aug. 23, 1809, 
and whose funeral I attended; she died in 
tonsequence of eating two green apples ! 
Apples should never be eaten until mellow, and 
the seeds are entirety black. Soon we shall 
hope to receive good tidings from you. 

" Your affectionate father, 
«C. S." 

In an absence from home on his Western jour- 
ney, to which allusion has been made, — appar- 
ently a great contrast to the experiences of 
Western travelling at the present day, — he 
writes to his younger daughter, under cover to 
the friends to whom she had been committed : — 

"Dear little M., — We have thought of 
you often, on our long journey, and your moth- 
er has written you a long letter. It gave an 



CHARLES STODDARD. 149 

account of the first part of our journey. From 
Louisville, we sailed down the Ohio into the 
great Mississippi, then up that mighty river to 
St. Louis. From there we rode in stages to 
Springfield, 111., where we passed the Sabbath. 
From Springfield we went to Jacksonville. On 
our way we had many mud-holes to go through. 
In one of these the carriage stuck fast. The 
horses could not draw it out, but broke some of 
their tackling. They were unfastened, and our 
carriage remained in the middle of the slough. 
Then came on a heavy thunder-shower, but as 
we were all in the carriage, we did not get wet. 
Afterwards some oxen drew us out of the mud, 
and we went on safely again. We took a 
steamboat from Jacksonville to Galena. We 
rode three days through the State of Illinois, to 
Chicago. We stopped at Mackinaw, and bought 
some maple sugar and an Indian basket. We 
sailed through Lakes Huron and Michigan and 
Erie to Cleveland, from there to Niagara Falls. 
The river is very wide, and tumbles down one 
hundred and fifty feet. It is one of the wonder- 
ful works of our heavenly Father. His power 
shows in the mighty fall of water held in his 
hand, while the spray, which dashes up from it 
when the sun shines, makes a beautiful rainbow, 



150 MEMORIALS OF 

which shows God's goodness. It is the bow of 
promise. All God's works are great and glo- 
rious, but his love in sending Jesus exceeds all 
the works of love and power. May you learn 
to sing of this precious love, my dear child ! " 

To his elder daughter, among brief notes in 
answers to questions, there are long personal 
letters. The following was written while she 
was at school, away from home : — 

" Dear E., — If you knew how many cus- 
tomers and people stand around me, you would 
not expect a long letter in answer to yours, 
but your letters make your mother and me very 
happy. I am glad you are 4 trying to overcome 
all your bad habits.' When tempted, put up a 
silent prayer for help. I think you had better 

remain at R till the autumn, although it will 

be a self-denial to us to have you away so long, 
but we think it will be for your health. Your 
mother and I were present at the commence- 
ment at Yale, when your uncle D took 

his degree ; but I think your aunt has written 
you of it. If I were told that you were to 
succeed Queen Victoria on the throne of Eng- 
land, it would give me no real pleasure, but 



CHARLES STODDARD. 151 

the thought that you would one day sparkle as 
a gem in the Redeemer's crown, — I cannot 
express the delight such a thought awakens in 
my heart." 

Again, before leaving home for a season, she 
receives the following letter of advice : — 

" Dear E., — You are about to bid us adieu 
again; but it is not like going to a strange 
place, and we have strong confidence that you 
will demean yourself towards your teachers as 
an affectionate, dutiful child. We wish you 
to be thorough in all your studies. See that 
you understand what you learn as you go 
along. 

" Every girl should be well versed in read- 
ing, writing, and arithmetic; the afternoons 
should be devoted to sewing. Avoid negligent 
habits. 

" In placing you thus away from us, we 
anticipate that you will improve physically and 
mentally ; but especially we hope that you will 
have strength given you to serve the Lord. 
He invites you to seek his guidance ; he will 
grant it to you. Try to make others happy. 
We commend you to God." 



152 MEMORIALS OF 

Again, after the receipt of some Christmas 
remembrances, he returns thanks, saying, — 

"Your letter and the presents came safely, 
and were received with much pleasure. The 
tulip was beautiful, and it was a lovely atten- 
tion to your mother, to make it for her birth- 
day. One of my Bible-class sent me, for a 
New Year's present, a large butterfly, made 
and highly ornamented in bright colors, and 
intended for a pen-wiper. I thought it a singu- 
lar coincidence that mother should have the 
present of a tulip, and I of a butterfly. How- 
ever, we pinned them side by side on our parlor 
wall, with these lines of Dr. Watts : — 

' The tulip and the butterfly 
Appear in gayer coats than I ; 
Let me be dressed fine as I will, 
Flies, worms, and flowers exceed me still.' " 

At another time he writes : — 

"My dear, Daughter, — After the fatigues 
of a busy day, I sit down to fill this page to you. 
If you knew how acceptable your letters are to 
your parents, you would cheerfully give to them 

the time occupied in writing. I reached W 

on Thursday eve, after a pleasant journey. Prof. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 153 

A. Hopkins has completed an observatory for 
astronomical purposes, and is erecting another 
for magnetic and electrical experiments. 

" He is very enterprising, devoted to science, 
and doing good. He never could accomplish 
so much, were it not for the habit he has of 
never passing a waking moment in idleness. 
On Tuesday you will receive a small box, 
which will, I hope, interest you. It includes a 
drum of figs, some English walnuts; besides, 
there are some letters, and a report of the 
A. B. C. F. M., of which you are a member. 

"C. S." 

My father's love of nature was so strong, 
that even in his small premises in the city, he 
had a sunny back-yard, which he transformed 
into a cheerful garden. Over a wide covered 
veranda, climbed a fine Isabella grape-vine, 
that gave a sweet fragrance at the open win- 
dows during the days of budding in June, and 
luscious fruit in the autumn. Near to this was 
another white vine, that did not yield so abun- 
dantly, but was beautiful to the eye; and my 
childish memory would say, valued because the 
fruit was less abundant. I find these words in 
one of the letters to his daughter : — 



154 MEMORIALS OF 

" The roses on the rods are in bloom, and 1 
suppose several hundred might be counted in 
various stages of bud and blossom." 

A great hydrangea occupied a prominent place 
in this garden, making quite a show. The white 
lilies were his delight, and often while looking 
at them as they came to perfection early in July, 
have I heard him say those sweet words of Jesus, 
" Consider the lilies of the field." 

One distinct picture in the memory of my 
childhood is Mar Yohannan, a Nestorian bishop, 
during his stay in America, while on a visit to 
my father, sitting in his Oriental costume on 
this shady veranda, smoking his long nargileh 
pipe. I find also in the " record " a statement 
of the number of pounds of grapes taken at 
different times from these vines ; in one year, 
" of Isabella grapes one hundred and forty 
pounds, and the white vine twenty-six pounds." 

One might wonder that so busy a man, with 
many cares, could find time to attend to the 
daily wants of these plants. His habit of 
early rising, combined with method, enabled 
him to keep his little garden in trim, without 
fatigue, indeed rather with refreshment. 

As my brother and I grew old enough, he 



CHARLES STODDARD. 155 

instructed us here to take our share in the work, 
talking the while of the love of God in giving 
us so much beauty, and letting us have a share 
in its growth, showing, through this wondrous 
growth of the plant from the seed sown in 
darkness, the need of faith. Those hours and 
those lessons can never be forgotten. 

In the attempt to portray the character of 
my father in his family and among his imme- 
diate connections, one feature of his influence 
must not be omitted, though it was more felt 
than seen. He had naturally a strong will, 
which, when young, he made subservient to a 
single lofty purpose. This not only gave steadi- 
ness to his general character, but had great 
force in influencing other wills. As a powerful 
magnet will attract all smaller particles to 
itself, so without any conscious effort of will, 
he guided and moulded others who came 
within the sphere of his influence. This was 
felt by those connected with him at times 
when difficult questions were to be decided. 
He never offered opinions unasked, but in his 
quiet way, keeping the end to be gained ever 
in view, would be sure to be a moving power 
in concluding the matter. 

An example of this appears in some state- 



156 MEMORIALS OF 

< 
ments made by a cousin of the writer, whc 

desired to contribute his personal testimony 

to the influence exerted on him during his 

early life, and during his education by my 

father : — 

" My dear Cousin, — The relation which 
existed between your father and myself was in 
reality that of guardian and ward. There was, 
indeed, no formal arrangement of such a con- 
nection between us, but it was perfectly under- 
stood for nearly eight years previous to his 
death. Being a clerk in his store, at the 
decease of my own father, I was all the more 
naturally taken under his supervision, and I 
looked up to him as my adviser and second 
father. In the month of February, 1866, imme- 
diately subsequent to my personal interest in 
religion, I conceived a strong desire to leave a 
mercantile life, and to resume my studies, with 
the ultimate aim of preaching the gospel. 

" Your father favored the plan from the first, 
but being exceedingly wary of sudden impulses, 
he wisely advised me to wait for three months 
to test my purpose. During this period he main- 
tained a discreet silence, neither encouraging 
nor discouraging the plan. At the expiration 



CHARLES STODDARD. 157 

of the three months, he had an interview with 
me, merely saying, ' I will not influence you 
one way or the other, but, should you decide to 
study for the ministry, I think the door will be 
opened for your so doing.' My determination 
was, as you know, to resume my studies. 
Whereupon (after I had thus decided) he 
expressed his hearty approval, and said that he 
would see me through the completion of my 
work. I have cited this as an illustration of 
your father's method of guardianship. His 
idea was the same upon which Pres. Hop- 
kins always acted, namely, to throw as much 
responsibility as possible upon the young man, 
in order to develop the invaluable qualities of 
self-reliance and decision of character. The 
same method was shown in his dealings with 
me during my entire course of study. At the 
outset, he left it to me (then a stripling of 
fifteen), to choose my preparatory school. It 
was a source of great gratification to me, that 
my decision in this and many other instances, 
though made in entire freedom, proved to be 
that which he secretly favored and desired. 
The strongest influence which he ever brought 
to bear upon me, in any of my conclusions, 
was in reference to my selection of a college. 
u 



158 MEMORIALS OF 

Unfortunately, his views upon this subject 
were conveyed to me in conversation, and not 
in writing ; hence I have to rely on my memory 
alone for their representation. While discuss- 
ing the merits of the various colleges of New 
England, I could not but feel that he favored 
Williams, of which he was a trustee, whose 
religious influence he so highly prized, and 
which had been so long the training-school 
of ministers " and missionaries. But the dis- 
tinguishing attraction of Williams College 
was, in his mind, its president. Other of its 
advantages might be counterbalanced by those 
of rival institutions, but there could be but one 
Dr. Hopkins ! 

" Should I take a preliminary course at any 
other seminary of learning, still he would 
advise me to take the last year under the in- 
fluence of Mark Hopkins, and he prophesied 
that however great the sacrifice, I would never 
regret the choice. Yet mark this : although 
the feeling was so strong on his part, yet the 
choice was left to me. This method of putting 
his ward upon his own responsibility began 
thus at the verj^ outset. This was still more 
strikingly shown in his course relative to the 
great rebellion which occurred at Williams 



CHARLES STODDARD. 159 

College in the fall of 1869. Owing to the 
passage of what was considered by the stu- 
dents to be an unjust law, the whole college 
was thrown into the greatest disorder. All 
recitations were abandoned by the students, 
and the members of all the classes, with the 
exception of three individuals, declared them- 
selves rebels. 

" Conceiving myself to be in the right, I was 
among them. The news of this rebellion gave 
great pain to your father. I remember well the 
letter which he wrote to me on that occasion. 
I opened it with fear and trembling, but there 
was no explosion of indignation, nor any per- 
emptory commands laid upon me to return to 
duty. His words were few and , to the point. 
He expressed his grief that Williams College, 
the missionary college, should have placed itself 
in such a position before the world. He feared 
that all religious interest would be dissipated for 
that year by such a sad division between stu- 
dents and instructors. While recognizing the 
undoubted sincerity of the better portion of the 
students, he yet pronounced their course a 
wrong one, and, after supporting his position by 
a few logical and pointed arguments, he closed 
the letter by placing the responsibility of my 



160 MEMORIALS OF 

action upon myself, only asking that I would 
decide independently of any class excitement, 
upon the simple question of right. As I now 
reflect upon the evils of the spirit of insubordi- 
nation, so manifest in our schools and colleges, 
I am amazed at the moderation and calmness 
with which your father was enabled to give 
counsel to one who was an active participant in 
an unjustifiable rebellion. Nor can I express 
my admiration of the remarkable manner in 
which he was able to guide without commanding, 
to influence without coercion. Enough has 
been said upon this point ; but I could illustrate 
it by many other examples, as in the choice 
of a theological seminary. Always advice 
was given if solicited, but ever, the burden 
of the decision had to rest with me. I could 
throw the responsibility of my action upon no 
one else. 

" Another striking influence and characteristic 
of your father's guardianship, was the religious 
element in all his letters. These were not fre- 
quent, but they were always marked by an ardent 
piety which was really wonderful. Intellectua] 
attainments were comparatively little valued by 
him, when weighed in the scales with moral ex- 
cellencies. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 161 

" News of the college, — reports of successful 
debates or of prizes won, — accounts of lectures 
and studies, — all these were recognized and 
appreciated ; but they were nothing unless ac- 
companied by some token of spiritual progress. 
His constant fear was that the intellectual would 
be cultivated at the expense of the spiritual. I 
recollect that at one time he told me he desired 
to do for me what others might not do. He felt 
sure that others would praise any intellectual 
achievements, which I might gain, but he was 
not certain of any one but himself, who would 
incite me toward the attainment of a spiritual 
likeness to our great Example. Not that he 
undervalued mental endowments, but that he 
placed the moral and intellectual elements of 
character in their true relative positions, rightly 
regarding the former as incomparably higher. 

" Of theological seminaries, your father had 
much distrust, on the ground that they usually 
produced precisely that which he was so ear- 
nestly striving against. During my two years 
of seminary life, his letters were full of admo- 
nition and counsel, recommending me, as I 
valued future usefulness in my profession, to 
blend active work for the Master with my intel- 
lectual researches. Upon the whole, in review- 

14* 



162 MEMORIALS OF 

ing his treatment of me as my guardian, through 
my clerkship, my preparatory studies, my entire 
college course, and my seminary life, I cannot 
point to a single word or act which was, on 
the one hand, lax and inefficient, or, on the 
other, imperious and dictatorial. 

" It was a perfect system of discipline, devel- 
oping, iil his ward, self-reliance and independ- 
ence of judgment ; and never fretting him by 
unwise or arbitrary restraints. 

" It was guardianship under the LAW of 
Christian liberty. Always prompt to give 
when asked, as his opinion upon some point, the 
result of his best thought and examination, he 
yet never formulated it in offensive positiveness 
or dogmatic assurance. A calm statement of 
his views, a patient consideration of all adverse 
points, followed by a mature decision, so spoken 
as always to leave it possible to accept or reject 
it on one's own responsibility, — such was your 
father's method with young men. Not by any 
sudden impulse, but actuated by a genuine and 
ever-increasing admiration of his wisdom and 
gentleness, do I ascribe to him very much of 
that which maybe good and noble in me. And 
when I stood beside him in the sleep of death, 
and realized my irreparable loss, I felt that God 



CHARLES STODDARD. 163 

had been indeed merciful to the orphan, in pro- 
viding me with such a guardian; and that I 
was then called upon to mourn for a second 
time a father's death." 
June 20, 1874. 



VI. 

LETTERS. — VARIOUS TOPICS. 

1839, 18*0. 

I "T was a custom begun when young by my 
-*~ father at certain periods to recount, in writ- 
ing, the mercies of his past life, and also make 
serious self-examination, comparing his acts 
with his standard. These facts of retrospect 
and outlook were not known to others ; they 
occurred at distant intervals of time, and 
served as points of departure in his onward 
journey. He closes one of these writings with 
the following words.: " In regard to the future, 
I feel that I am in the condition of Abraham, 
when God said to him, ' Get thee out of thy 
country, and from thy kindred and thy father's 
house, unto a land that I will show thee. And 
he went out not knowing whither he went.' I 
cannot tell what a day may bring forth, what 
designs God has with respect to me ; nor do I 
care to know any farther than he is pleased to 
develop them in his providence. It is enough 

164 



CHARLES STODDARD. 165 

for me that the government is on His shoulders, 
who is my Mediator and Redeemer. I regret 
my mistakes and sins ; my refuge is the atoning 
blood of Christ. I cordially rejoice that God 
governs the world, and think I desire a conform- 
ity to his character and likeness." With such a 
living, lively faith, all loss would be gain, all 
events according to his desire, because in con- 
formity with God's will. 

To his daughter E , from Sharon Springs, 

he writes : — 

" In one of my rambles on these mountains, 
in a very sequestered path, I overtook a little 
girl trudging along barefooted, and having on a 
bonnet whose capacious front indicated that it 
was not of the latest fashion. She did not 
appear to be over seven, and as it was a I6nely 
place, deeply wooded, I feared she might be 
frightened at the sight of a stranger. So I 
accosted her as gently as I could, and asked 
her if she would not like two little books, 
handing her some I happened to have in my 
pocket. She took them readily; and as we 
walked on I entered into conversation with her. 
4 Do you go to school ? ' — 4 Yes, sir.' — ' Who is 
your teacher ? ' — ' Miss Perkins.' — 4 How far 



166 MEMORIALS OF 

have you learned? ' — ; Three leaves of .my A, 
B, C's. ' — 6 Have you a father and a mother ? ' — 
4 Yes ; and two brothers bigger than I, but no 
sisters. ' — ' Do you always mind your father 
and mother ? ' — c Yes, sir ; - father would lick 
me if I did not mind. ' — c Do you say your 
prayers ? ' — 4 Yes, sir ; always. If I went to 
bed without saying my prayers, father would 
make me get up and make me say them, and 
lick me hard too.' — c Do you sometimes speak 
unkindly to your mother ? ' — c Once I did, and 
felt sorry for it. Last winter, 5 said she, ' 1 cried 
almost all the time to go to school, but I had 
no shoes and no coat, and I could not go, and 
I cried a great deal. Father says he thinks he 
shall buy me a flannel frock and a pair of shoes 
and some mittens, so that I can go to school 
next winter.' She showed me the house of her 
parents. It was a shanty of the plainest kind, — 
a number of boards set aslant like a roof, and 
the sides filled up with mud. I longed to do 
something for this little girl, but scarcely knew 

how. Thank C for his letters telling about 

the roses and the birds." 

On the twelfth birthday of my brother, he 
says in a note to him : — 



CHARLES STODDARD. 167 

"My dear Son, — This is your birthday. 
You are twelve years old. The anniversary of 
my birth has been always a season of serious 
thought to me. I well remember when I was 
your age. A school companion and playmate of 
my earlier years, who had been absent for some 
time, returned to Northampton. His mind had 
become interested in religious things. He told 
me his feelings, and exhorted me ' to seek the 
Saviour now.' His conversation made a solemn 
impression on my mind. I began to pray ear- 
nestly, and for a time play was distasteful to me. 
After a time these feelings subsided. In two 
months after I was twelve, I left the home of my 
childhood, and went to live with my uncle in 
Portsmouth, N. H. This was in the year 1814, 
during the last war. I saw a privateer fitted 
out, filled with armed men to fight and destroy 
any vessels belonging to Great Britain that they 
might meet with. This vessel never returned ; 
it was supposed that it foundered at sea. I 
lived in Portsmouth nearly a year, and removed 
with my uncle to Boston in 1815. Here I have 
passed about thirty years of my life. During all 
this period, equal to the average life of man, 
I have enjoyed almost uninterrupted health. 
Rarely have I been kept from church on the 
Sabbath by illness. 



168 MEMORIALS OF 

" In looking back upon the incidents of my life, 
I find much for which to render devout thanks- 
givings to God. It is he that has guided me in 
all my ways. His loving kindness and tender 
mercy I have ever experienced. I never had a 
great many companions. I never would keep 
company with a profane or vicious person. This 
has been a great help to me in walking in the 
path of wisdom. It has been my maxim, that it 
was better to have no companions, than those 
who were licentious or dissipated. But chiefly 
my strength to resist temptation has been drawn 
from the Source of strength and wisdom, in. 
humble prayer. Since I was of your age, I have 
maintained the daily practice of morning and 
evening devotion. To this practice I refer all 
my blessings, which have been 'new every 
morning, and fresh every evening.' 

" I do most strongly urge upon you, my 
beloved child, the conscientious practice of 
morning and evening prayer, accompanied by 
the systematic reading of the Bible. This 
precious word of God is able to make you wise 
unto salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ. 
I desire to do all in my power to train you for 
usefulness in the world, and for a happy heaven 
when this life shall be ended. I have procured 



CHARLES STODDARD. 169 

for you a portable writing-desk, with a lock and 
key. It is an article I valued very highly when 
I was young." 

Again he writes : — 

" My dear E., — On Monday your mother 
and I set out for Williamstown. Our company 
was very agreeable, consisting of several literary 
gentlemen on their way to Pittsfield, where a 
convention of teachers was held the same week. 

At P we were in company with a brother of 

Pres. D of Yale College. He was for forty 

years reporter of the laws of Connecticut, and 
for half that period Secretary of that State. At 
a meeting of the trustees which I afterwards 

attended in W , a letter was read from 

him, stating the work he had done, and present- 
ing a series of twenty volumes to the college. 
There were many sallies of sprightliness between 
the alumni, gathered after years of separation, 
and much of interest to me in the addresses." 

The journey to W was made, in part, 

that he might fulfil his duties as trustee of 
Williams College, to which position he was 
elected in 1840. His interest in the college 
grew up naturally from the fact, that the place 

15 



170 MEMORIALS OF 

was the early home of his wife, from its associ- 
ation also with the first steps in the cause of 
foreign missions, and more than all, for its in- 
fluence for good, in consequence of the character 
and superior intellect of the president who 
instructed and moulded the young men it sent 
forth. The esteem and friendship my father 
felt for Dr. Hopkins, and his association with 
him, he counted as one of the richest blessings 
of his life. My father was esteemed a wise 
counsellor in difficult matters in college manage- 
ment. He rarely was absent at the annual 
meeting of the trustees, though in later years, 
owing to asthma, he had sometimes a week of 
suffering while attending to those trust duties. 
But, once having assumed a trust, he felt bound, 
from his sense of duty, to fulfil it. 

Later, to the same daughter, he writes : — 

" I have felt that I ought to remind you that 
flattery is always wrong, and it is also cruel. 

" Beware of a flatterer ; you will probably 
hear much of it, but remember, my dear, that 
those are not your best friends who flatter your 
vanity. They are not worthy the name of 
friends. Our enemies are sometimes our best 
friends, for they tell us the truth. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 171 

" If you are wise, you will covet as friends 
those who will speak to you soberly Gf your 
faults. You speak of changes among the girls 
of your acquaintance, and their engagements. 
It is most reasonable, and not strange, that 
young people should change their situations, 
and I am more and more convinced that those 
act most wisely, in this and all other matters, 
who seek guidance from above. The only safe 
course is to follow where the providence of 
God leads. We will try to make your home 
as pleasant as may be, and I doubt not it will 
be a pleasant one to you, notwithstanding the 
dazzling splendors of the Old World. I think 
you are right in cultivating reading, but, 
although good in its place, it cannot supply the 
lack of literary associates and influences. 

" These thoughts are submitted for your 
guidance, by your affectionate father, 

"C. S." 

This culture of books, and association with 
those who made study and science their life, 
my father not only believed in in theory, but 
in practice. He invited to his house men of 
distinction, some of these passing weeks with 
his family. His sympathies drew him to those 



172 MEMORIALS OF 

who combined culture with religion. Why 
indeed should these be separated ? The weak- 
est intellect grows strong when wakened into 
life by the vital power of the Christian hope ; 
must not then religion develop into a broader 
maturity those minds which are endowed with 
choice natural gifts ? 

These letters to his children, though consid- 
erable in number, seem but a mere suggestion, 
compared with those that are not selected. 

There may be some value in the loving 
advice they contain, to others not of his family 
circle, while they will show, as only his words 
could do, his deepest interest for his children. 
In one of his absences he writes to his son : — 

" Deak C, — How many times have my 
thoughts gone back to our dear home since 
I left you yesterday afternoon ! Can I leave 
my children without a guide for a few days? 
Will they conduct themselves in such a manner 
as I shall approve ? Above all, will they please 
God? Such questions as these pass through 
my mind. Then I have thought that you were 
two years older than I was when I left my 
father's house, and had, in some degree, to guide 
my own steps. I felt then the need of the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 173 

guidance of my heavenly Friend, and I cried 
unto him, ' My Father, thou art the guide of 
my youth.' He did guide me, he preserved 
me from sin. So will he guide you, my dear 

C , if you look to him in earnest prayer. 

"Your Affectionate Father." 

Added to this intercourse with his children, 
he corresponded with each individual of his 
wife's immediate family, adopting them into his 
near friendship and affection, and giving time 
and counsel to aid them in their plans for the 
future. The combination in my father of a 
wide love that embraced the world, with a nar- 
rower but not less needful love to those allied 
to him by blood, was marked. He was by 
nature exclusive in his tastes, fastidious in 
respect to his associates, reserved with those 
not in the same social position as himself, and 
mourns, in his hours of penitence, " that pride 
was a besetting sin." Yet the love of God so 
governed this exclusive trait, that neither the 
lowliest nor the rudest was made conscious of 
it, nor did he hesitate to associate with them, 
when by so doing he could serve his Master. 

He could thus lay aside personal prejudices, 
and love, as he would express it, with a " love 
15* 



174 MEMORIALS OF 

of complacency," all to whom lie could do good. 
Yet lie was not in the same way genial with 
them as with those of his own kin, with whom, 
by correspondence as well as personal inter- 
course, he kept up a helpful friendship that 
enriched each life with which it came in con- 
tact. Many men of large benevolence are so 
engrossed with great objects, become so enam- 
oured of pet schemes of philanthropy, that they 
cannot give either mind or heart to family de- 
tails, or the needs £>f kindred, and thus leave 
those deeds undone which seem to belong pecul- 
iarly to them. In this way their charity loses 
part of its virtue and its power to bless. Theirs 
may seem a natural, but still it is a selfish 
way of gratifying a humane and kindly dis- 
position. 

Those who needed my father in his family, 
or family connections, were the persons on 
whom he bestowed much labor and affection. 
Although rejoicing in the success of those among 
Ids relatives who did well, his great tenderness 
was reserved for those who struggled with 
difficulties. His letters may not show it as 
fully as is wished, for but few of them can be 
given, and these extend over a considerable 
period. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 175 

His immediate and earnest interest was 
awakened chiefly for the spiritual needs of 
others, yet his well-balanced character did not 
allow him to neglect to give them encourage- 
ment in their temporal affairs. 

To his sister-in-law, now married, he writes : — 

" Dear F., — Your letter I found on my table 
this morning ; and I was so much delighted with 
it, that I have sat down in business hours to send 
you my thanks for this evidence of sisterly affec- 
tion. From the details, I infer that your time 
has of late been profitably employed. Certainly 
the perusal of such a practical work as Harlan 
Page is calculated to influence a Christian to 

emulate such an example. Perhaps A is 

not aware that the son of Harlan Page is in a 
decline. I think he might like to seek him out, 
and comfort him, as a mark of personal esteem. 
I understand he is a cheerful Christian, and 
willing and happy to die. I am not able to use 
my eyes more than an hour in the evening, so 
I have not contemplated 4 The Glory of Eng- 
land' through the medium of C. E. Lester, 
though I have through other mediums at dif- 
ferent times. I read, however, considerably to 
M , and the children read to me. Last 



176 MEMORIALS OF 

evening we read a portion of the life of Cowper. 
We expect Dr. Hopkins here to lecture before 
the society recently formed, called ; The Young 
Men's Society for the Diffusion of Missionary 
Knowledge.' It will doubtless open a rich field 
of research, and have a favorable influence on 
the popular mind in regard to missionary efforts. 
Your reflections in view of the closing year are 
good. It is wise to review our past conduct, 
and the motives from which it proceeded. I 
desire that my dear sister may abound in the 
fruits of the Spirit, that you may be useful as a 
follower of the Saviour, and be prepared for a 
glorious heaven when this life shall be ended." 

In the following pleasing letter written at 
this time is shown what genial replies my 
father's letters called forth from his friends. 
This is from his clerical brother-in-law : — 

" Dear Sir, — Separated from both wife and 
children, I have no reason to doubt but you 
have enough epistles. Still, as you always find 
time to write letters, you probably have leisure 
to read them, and would not consider one an 
intrusion, either upon the stillness of No. 3 [his 
home], or the bustle of No. 74 [his place of 
business]. I picture your days busy as ever 



CHARLES STODDARD. 177 

at the one place, and your nights at the 
other, calm and solitary, communing with 
books in the absence of loved ones. I recollect 
to have heard you say that comparatively few 
business men find pleasure in literary pursuits, 
and to have wondered that they did not 
oftener, by this change, refresh and invigorate 
their exhausted spirits. The majority perhaps 
wonder how any one occupied by the toils of 
business can enter the field, and reap an intel- 
lectual harvest ; and would about as soon ex- 
pect literally and figuratively to find ; sermons 
in stones, tongues in trees, and books in the 
running brooks.' Original taste in part, but 
education and habit more, make us find com- 
panions and friends in books, with whom in a 
lonely hour we may discourse, so that we may 
be said to be never less alone than when alone. 
The same reasons, too, cause us to receive 
delight and instruction from the great teacher, 
Nature. Many others than myself, if the con- 
ditions were made to them, either to live ignor- 
ant of books and the voice of nature and the 
hum of man, or to live on a solitary island 
blessed with them, would probably prefer the 
latter. Perhaps you will say, that, the spirit of 
active benevolence thrown into the scale, it 



178 MEMORIALS OF 

would preponderate in favor of the former. 
However, men may just as well enjoy some of 
the gratifications of taste as not, which, like 
the oil for the machinery, tend to remove the 
friction of life. The former may be content 
with the simple kitchen-garden, which fur- 
nishes substantial fare, but his vegetables will 
be none the smaller, nor of less rich flavor, 
should the beds be embellished with a few 
flowers. I think probably his taste in both 
senses would be improved, surely in one. The 
love of money is as destructive to intellectual 
as moral growth, and is with difficulty over- 
come. Still though the god of riches will 
hardly bear to be disenthroned, he will bear to 
be crowded a little. We thus make room for, 
and gradually contract a fellowship with things 
more intellectual, and it is this alliance, when 
fairly completed, that does more than. any thing 
else for literary interests, and is well illustrated 
by the efforts of Boston merchants. Please par- 
don all this from a country student, and I'll to 
facts now. B said he told you of the pleas- 
ant days we've enjoyed with himself and Mrs. 

S . Your wife never seemed happier than 

on that visit. It could not but be gratifying 
to receive so much kindness and so much 



CHARLES STODDARD. 179 

attention from all classes. She rambled over 
the hills and dales, reviewed the old scenes 
with her own eyes, and viewed the heavens 

with Prof. H , that is through his new 

telescope. Occasionally a sombre tinge would 
o'er-shadow her countenance as she asked, 
' How is my good husband, and the dear little 
ones? I must see them.' One she has al- 
ready folded in her arms. 

" The tour has afforded us* an inexhaustible 
fund of profit and amusement. We have re- 
joiced over your ' hair-breadth escapes,' and 
laughed at your perils in the ' imminent muddy 
slue.' 

" F favors us now and then with a chap- 
ter of her journal. 

" ' She travels and expatiates, as the bee 

From flower to flower, so she from land to land. 
The manners, customs, policy, of all 
Pay contribution to the stores she gleans ; 
She sucks intelligence from every clime, 
And spreads the honey of her deep research, 
At her return, — a rich repast for us ; 
While fancy, like the finger of the clock, 
Runs the great circuit, and is still at horne. , " 

To the sister-in-law, living with her mother, 
he often wrote, as well as to the mother. In 



180 MEMORIALS OF 

1840, after rejoicing with her in her increasing 
desire for growth in piety, he says : — 

" Every active effort you make to do good to 
others from love to Christ, will strengthen that 
principle within you. I need not say what 
pure and unalloyed pleasure flows into the soul, 
in proportion as it goes forth in benevolent feel- 
ing and active effort for others. You speak of 
the death of friends. As years roll on, one 
after another of our friends whom we have 
known and loved here are removed by death. 
An event so frequently occurring must be often 
in our thoughts. If we are Christians death 
will be our entrance into glory, and its frequent 
contemplation will enable us to estimate things 
here according to their true value and impor- 
tance." 

To his mother-in-law, now somewhat an inva- 
lid, he writes : — 

" Do you not feel it a relief, when exercised 
with pain, or exhausted and weary, to speak 
out aloud the praises of the Lord, or listen to 
a hymn or psalm of praise? It has often 
seemed to me that Christians deprive themselves 
of much enjoyment by spending so little time 



CHARLES STODDARD. 181 

in the delightful work of praise. I doubt not 
if you and your daughter spent an hour each 
day in this exercise, either reading the Psalms 
of David, or uniting in a prayer of thanksgiv- 
ing, you would find it far more profitable 
than mourning over sins and unworthiness, or 
looking back upon the past. Paul said, c This 
one thing I do, forgetting those things which 
are behind, and reaching forth unto those which 
are before, I press toward the mark.' I trust 
you will be enabled to maintain a calm and 
quiet trust in the Lord, who has led you and fed 
you all your life long, and who will never leave 
you nor forsake you. Count over the mercies 
your past history furnishes, and you will find it 
refreshing to your soul. 

" i Children of the heavenly King, 
As ye journey, sweetly sing.' " 

In 1840, I find in the Family Record : — 

" To-day we had a fast in the c 01cl South' 
Chapel, with services in the afternoon and 
evening. These meetings were fully attended 
and deeply solemn. At the afternoon session, a 
choice was made of a deacon in the place of 
Deacon Vose, who was suddenly removed by 
death, in October. The choice fell upon me. 

16 



182 MEMORIALS OF 

I was chosen to fill this office in 1835, and then 
thought it my duty to decline, but in view of the 
above-mentioned providence of God, and the 
circumstances of the church, I felt constrained 
to give my answer in the following words, which 
were communicated to the church at the evening 
session : c I would say, that, when I was elected 
deacon several years since, I felt it my duty, 
after deliberation, to decline the appointment, 
and I did so in the hope that I might be per- 
mitted to live and die a private member. Now 
our circumstances are much changed. An active 
officer has been suddenly removed by death. 
The providence of God calls us to fill ' this 
vacancy, and the church (I know not why) 
have fixed on me to occupy the breach. Strong 
as is my desire to continue a private member, 
yet I do not feel at liberty to disregard the 
providence of God, and the clearly expressed 
wishes of his people, and therefore consent to 
accept the trust you have committed to me.' v 

The following letter is to his respected uncle, 
John Tappan, then on a journey in Europe : — 

" My dear Sir,, — We felt not a little 
solicitude for you and aunt, and the good 
steamer in which you had gone to N sea, when 



CHARLES STODDARD. 183 

on the night of the 16th of March, we had 
a violent north-east gale, with as great a fall of 
snow as we have had in the same period of time 
during the winter. The gale was furious, blow- 
ing down walls and injuring vessels. We felt 
a confidence- however that our heavenly Father 
would watch over and protect you from the 
dangers of that night, and future dangers of 
your journey. I think you must have a fine 
view of the beautiful comet, now visible in the 
western sky soon after dark. Mar Yohannan, 
the Nestorian, of whom we have heard so much 
the past ten years, arrived here a few days 
since, from Smyrna. He is a man of modest 
bearing, in stature and countenance somewhat 
like Mr. Eli Smith of Beyrout. The coming 
month will be an interesting one to both of 
you in London, so many religious anniversaries 
occur at that time. You will notice that Mr. 
Webster has resigned his office of Secretary of 
State, and Mr. Cushing is going to China. I 
am again indebted to you for foreign news- 
.pcipers. Their arrival brought news that my 
brother and his wife, and the missionary com- 
pany that sailed with him, had reached Smyrna. 
I went to your house Saturday, every thing 
looked quiet and undisturbed. You kindly ask 



184 MEMORIALS OF 

for my health. I have been absent three months, 
at Sharon Springs, N. Y., and I think experi- 
enced benefit. I am as well, I suppose, as the 
average of mankind, able to eat my allowance, 
and attend to my duties. 

" Very truly your affectionate nephew, 

"C. S.' ; 

To the same, he writes again : — 

" My dear Sir, — You will probably learn 
by the papers, as soon as you receive this, the 
awful visitation of God upon New York, in the 
fire which occurred there yesterday, destroying 
two hundred warehouses in Broadway, Ex- 
change Street, &c. How true it is that ' riches 
make themselves wings ; they fly away as an 
eagle toward heaven ' ! ' He builds too low who 
builds below the skies.' Vain man would say, 
' Now we have the Croton water, we are safe 
from desolating fire.' But God rules, not man, 
and at his bidding the elements can desolate 
the abodes of man. I have been reminded of 
some sentiments in Pres. Hopkins' convention 
sermon, which I think you will remember. My 
wife joins me in cordial salutations to Mrs. 
Tappan. If I can do any thing here while you 
are away, you will command my services." 



CHARLES STODDARD. 185 

In 1843 he writes to his daughter M. : — 

" You have a ' tolerably good handwriting ; ' 
but I want you to aim at perfection in this, as 
well as in all your studies, and never satisfy 
yourself with a ' tolerably good lesson." In 
writing, particularly, one is very apt to fall into 
a careless habit. I can only furnish you good 
pens, good ink, good paper, and good advice. 
You must do the rest. I think your last was 
an improvement. You ask me if I ' drive out/ 
I drive out on my feet. I have neither hired a 
horse, nor borrowed one, nor used one since I 
have been here, but have done all my travel- 
ling on my feet, and this I think the very best 
way. I almost despise riding, walking is so 
much more independent and agreeable. 

" This is called c blossom week ' in the coun- 
try, as it is the precise season when the trees 
are arrayed in rich and beautiful flowers. The 
return of the warm sun after a number of wet 
days, caused the flowers to spring forth on 
every side, and the air is loaded with rich per- 
fume. Is not this perfume sweet incense, a 
silent but eloquent tribute of praise from the 
inanimate creation, to the great Author of this 
wondrous frame ? " . . . 

16* 



186 MEMORIALS OF 

The following extract is from a letter to his 
son, and dated " Sharon Springs," where he had 
gone for the baths for a few weeks : — 

" Dear C, — It was just noon on the 4th of 
July, when we reached Albany. You know 
what a place Albany is for confusion about lug- 
gage. I held fast to mine till I found two 
lively looking boys. One took hold of one end, 
and one the other, of my trunk, and I walked 
behind them. As we passed through the streets, 
there was a grand temperance procession with a 
band of music passing, and it was a pleasant 
sight to me. They had a large car drawn by 
four or six horses, with a well built upon it, and 
the old oaken bucket hanging in the well. The 
boys interested me most. They had many 
banners, on one, ' The youth are coming.' 
While the procession passed along all the bells 
of the city rang, and it seemed to me a good 
day for Albany. Albany ale must be getting 
out of fashion. This spring at Sharon is almost 
as quiet as that at Clarendon. There is a pretty 
waterfall of nearly one hundred feet in height, 
just below the spring. The body of water is 
small, but the effect pretty. Don't you remem- 
ber my dear grass-bird, the sweet little song- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 187 

ster ? Well, here he is ; he sings to me when- 
ever I walk, at all hours of the day, and a fine 
note he has. I wish you would search him out 
in Mr. Audubon's collection, and see what he 
says of him. 

" Mr. Stevens the Oriental traveller sits oppo- 
site me at table with his two sisters. 

" I have not heard from Boston since I left. 
Give love to each of the family. 

"Your Affectionate Father." 



VII. 

DEVOTION TO THE MISSIONARY 
ENTERPRISE. 

18414846, 

I~T was during the year 1837, that he wrote a 

letter to his brother D , full of the spirit 

of missions. In it he speaks of his burdens : " I 
thank you for the sympathy that you express 
for me in the troubles and trials of the present 
time, which fall heavily on merchants. In your 
seclusion and separation you can form little idea 
of these trials." The letter on missions is inter- 
esting, as turning the attention of this brother, 
for the first time, to the particular mission 
where he afterwards spent his life, and gave his 
mature energies. 

" Dear D., — Dr. Grant, who has just returned 
from the Nestorian mission to this country, 
gave us, at the monthly concert last evening, a 
very interesting account of his explorations 
among the Nestorian Christians. This people 

188 



CHARLES STODDARD. . - 189 

is situated among the mountains of Koordistan, 
shut up entirely from the rest of the world, 
where they have maintained the doctrines and 
practices of the gospel for many centuries, prob- 
ably from near the time of the primitive church 
of Christ. Koordistan has been their bulwark 
of defence, and it seems as though God had 
some marked design in thus preserving them 
pure to a good degree. They are ignorant, and 
feel their need of instruction. All the Bibles 
or books they have, are multiplied by written 
copies, and they hail the dawning of a brighter 
day with much joy. The board of missions 
intend immediately to establish a mission among 
this interesting people. We had a delightful 
meeting of the board, at Providence, which 
truly refreshed me. I hope you will emerge 
from your course of studies safe, but I want 
you to determine by God's help, that your 
influence shall be felt before you die, on the 
other side of the globe. Resolve in the strength 
of the Lord, that the world shall be better for 
your having lived in it. Long for the distinc- 
tion of that man who turns many to righteous- 
ness, and i shall shine like the stars for ever and 



190 MEMORIALS OF 

In 1841 his brother David received from him 
a letter, in which the following views are ex- 
pressed : — 

" You allude to the cause of missions, and ask 
if I do not feel persuaded missions will go on. 
I do. I feel sure that God has thoughts of mercy 
towards the heathen world, and that he will 
accomplish his purposqs, whether the church 
in this country comes up to his work, or not. 

" To-day I accompanied to the ship Rev. Mr. 
Meigs, on his return to his station in Ceylon, 
where he has labored twenty-five years. In 
regard to your deciding the question, whether 
it is your duty to become a missionary, I have 
a few thoughts. Some would say that a will- 
ingness to take up and examine the claims of 
the heathen, with a candid mind, would insure 
a result in favor of going abroad. This per- 
haps is not true, but the field is so much larger, 
the laborers so much fewer, that there must be 
scope for their efforts. Now if you will take a 
missionary, and trace his trials and his progress 
through his journals published in 6 The Mission- 
ary Herald,' for several years, you will have a 
more distinct and real view of the work, than you 
can from contemplation. Then after reading, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 191 

and conversation with missionaries, I should 
like you to enjoy a free conversation with 
Dr. A . Of course you will make the mat- 
ter a subject of earnest prayer to God. There 
is to the youthful mind, much poetry and 
romance in travelling over those countries con- 
nected with ancient times and Bible history. 
But after one has been there a little while, all 
this feeling wears away, and the sober duties 
of a missionary's life are calling for all his 
strength and energy. I have time to pursue 
the subject no further now, but will resume it 
with much pleasure. 

" Your affectionate brother, C. S." 

"My dear Brother D., — Father showed 
me a recent letter from you, and from this 
I learn you had begun to preach the gospel. I 
rejoice that you have. I sympathize with you 
most fully. It is a precious truth to me, that 
God governs the world, that he governs me just 
as he pleases, and that he will do with me what 
he pleases. I think I am fully willing that he 
should dispose of me and mine as his infinite 
wisdom shall see best. I can see all things to 
admire in Jesus Christ, and the prospect of 
passing an eternity in holy employment, free 



192 MEMORIALS OF 

from sins seems to me most glorious. You are 
at a most interesting period of life, and I would 
gladly aid you in the decision of your future 
plans, if it is in my power. 

" I fully believe you desire to serve Christ, 
and go where he would have you, in short, to 
know and do his will. It is not always easy to 
ascertain the will of God ; though I think that 
humble waiting on him, accompanied by a watch- 
ful notice of his providence with respect to us, 
will generally conduct us to a right result. For 
my own part, I desire to see you placed where 
you will honor God the most, in whichever 
hemisphere that may be. While it is not a 
man's duty to confer with flesh and blood, in 
serving Christ, still he should make use of the 
judgment and discretion which God has given 
him, in deciding what his constitution will bear, 
and where he could hold out longest in his 
labors for the good of men." 

His brother David having spent much time 
in correspondence to learn about missions and 
missionary work, and having followed his in- 
quiries with earnest prayer for guidance, had now 
arrived at a clear decision on the subject, and 
had stated it to my father. The joy my father 



CHARLES STODDARD. 193 

felt, that the cause he so loved should be repre- 
sented by one so dear to him, was great, and 
with this joy a tenderness mingled, as he knew 
that the time was rapidly nearing when David 
would leave his friends, for his life's work in his 
chosen field in Persia. 

I give an extract from a letter dated February, 
1843 : — 

"Dear Brother, — Dr. A -showed me 

at our meeting yesterday a few lines from you 
to him, by which I perceive that the day of your 
ordination is fixed for Friday, 27th February. 
Also I learn that there is a good vessel bound 
for Smyrna, March 1. Miss B left us yes- 
terday, after a brief visit ; and we are fully per- 
suaded that she will ' do you good, and not evil, 
all the days of your life.' " 

I find in the " Records " " On Wednesday, 
Marph 1, at half-past four, p.m., the bark 
4 Emma Isadora ' left the wharf, bearing a com- 
pany of missionaries, with Bishop Mar Yohannan, 
bound for Smyrna. The missionaries, who it 
is fully believed have counted the cost of leav- 
ing their friends for a residence in the heart of 
Asia, eight thousand miles from their native 
land, were cheerful and happy as the vessel set 
sail." " 



194 MEMORIALS OF 

His first letter is written soon after they 
left: — 

"My dear Brother D., — It was half-past 
four in the afternoon when we took your hand, 
and bade farewell to dearly beloved friends 
bound on a mission of mercy to benighted men. 
The vessel unloosed her fastenings, and gave her 
sails to the fresh breeze, and glided rapidly and 
gracefully away. We remained on the ship 
' Sophia,' waving handkerchiefs, and exchanging 
last looks, as long as we could discover objects 
on the deck. Then we looked at the bark, as 
with one sail after another shaken out, she 
ploughed the deep. It was six o'clock before 
we returned home. Thursday, Friday, and 
Saturday, we had a fine strong north-west breeze, 
which we calculate must have blown you five 
hundred miles the first sixty hours. But our 
confidence is not in the winds nor the waves, 
but in the Lord in whose name you have em- 
barked in the work of love and mercy. I rest 
with unshaken confidence on the Saviour's 
promise, ' Lo, I am with you always, even unto 
the end of the world.' I believe you have both 
gone with a single desire to glorify him, and his 
promises will never fail. The receipts of the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 195 

board continue much less than they were last 
year, and the committee have determined to 
issue a circular to the pastors, giving a simple 
statement of facts, and the consequences which 
must ensue unless the tide is turned. When will 
the people of God learn to act from principle, and 
on the plan of personal self-denial, in their efforts 
to extend the knowledge of the gospel through 
the world ? We can always get money for this 
cause by appeals ; but a steady stream of Chris- 
tian liberality, augmenting and swelling, is what 
the missionary cause most needs, to render it 
most effective in spreading the gospel in the 
shortest possible time through the world. 

" For a few nights we have had a beautiful 
comet in the western sky, visible soon after 
dark, and I have thought of you, as enjoying 
this object at sea. Please present my Christian 
salutations to your associates and to the bishop. 
We shall meet you at the throne of grace, and 
plead His promises, which are yea and amen in 
Christ. I think this letter may reach you at 
Constantinople. When you touch the shores 
of Asia, lose no time in letting us know of your 
welfare and your prospects." 

Again the same year he writes : — 



196 MEMORIALS OF 

" We have recently had a visit from the 
chief magistrate of the nation, Pres. Tyler, 
accompanied by all his cabinet, on the occasion 
of the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, 
when a splendid address was delivered by Dan- 
iel Webster, which as a specimen of eloquence 
I should be glad to send you. There was a 
long and brilliant procession, and much exter- 
nal manifestation of interest on the part of the 
people. One of the members of the cabinet, 
although he sojourned in the city but a week, 
was called to his last account ; a sudden death 
of an eminent man in a literary point of view, 
he being a scholar and a statesman. We have 
news within a few weeks, that the Sandwich 
Islands have been taken possession of by the 
British Government in a high-handed manner. 
But our belief is, that the naval commander 
exceeded his instructions, and that the act will 
be disavowed by the British nation. We have, 
however, sufficient proof of the folly of put- 
ting our trust in human governments, and of 
the wisdom of trusting in the Lord, relying on 
his promise of protection for success." 

The letters are numerous between these 
brothers so widely separated, and given in full, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 197 

would touch upon almost every point in public 
or private matters; but I will endeavor to 
select those of most value. In September, 
1843, I find this one : — 

"Dear Brother, — Peace be with you, 
and- love from God the Father and our Lord 
Jesus Christ ! We love to contemplate you as 
laboring for the furtherance of the gospel in 
the region of Persia, we rejoice that sickness 
has not come to either of you, and that your 
work is more and more felt among the people. 
The last steamer brought news, in the political 
papers, of a terrible massacre of the Nestorians 
by the Koords. We have no letters, but sup- 
pose this report refers to some fighting in the 
mountains of which we had previously heard, 
and w^hich had not so soon reached the political 
papers. Wars and rumor of wars we must ex- 
pect to hear of in Asia, in the dynasties which 
have waxed old, and are ready to vanish away, 
but I trust that every change will be over- 
ruled for the advancement of His cause whose 
right it is to reign. The seasons go their 
rounds with unfailing regularity, while each, as 
it passes, shortens the period of our continu- 
ance on earth, and brings us nearer to our 

17* 



198 MEMORIALS OF 

home. And shall we, dear brother, one day sit 
down together on Zion's hill above, and re- 
count all the way our heavenly Father has led 
us in our pilgrimage below ? The season will 
be short which intervenes, and, if filled up 
with active service for our Master, it will not 
disturb us to reflect that it is rapidly terminat- 
ing. ... Our beloved mother obtained the 
premium for a hearth-rug at the fair in North- 
ampton in August ; pretty well for a lady of 
her age (over seventy). You allude to your 
mode of living, and wonder ' whether it is not 
an obstacle to success.' I know not to what 
exactly you allude, but think it the duty of 
every missionary to make himself comfortable, 
so as to preserve his health and elasticity of 
spirits. This latter is quite important. I hope 
you will ever maintain and cherish a cheerful 
spirit. It is very important to health ; it is im- 
portant to usefulness. Do not disturb your- 
self at night because the day has not gone to 
your mind, but ' cast all your care on Him who 
careth for you.' 

" Your Affectionate Brother." 

There came trials and obstacles in this mis- 
sionary labor. The ecclesiastics were disturbed 



CHARLES STODDARD. 199 

at the progress of truth, and arrayed them- 
selves against the missionaries. Father was 
appealed to for advice, and gives it in the fol- 
lowing letter : — 

" If the Nestorian people are to be put up at 
auction, to the highest bidder, the pope or the 
Puseyites can bid more than you. In fact you 
cannot bid at all. Yours is a spiritual mission, 
to turn the people from the love and service of 
sin, to the love and service of God, and if you 
keep this steadily in mind, and plan and labor 
with this object directly in view, and avoid 
time-serving policy of all sorts, you will in the 
end be the gainers. Indeed, I think you will 
find that the Jesuits will be more than a match 
for you at the court of Persia, nor will it sur- 
prise me, if in their turn, they should drive 
you from Persia. God exerts his power over 
kings and emperors, that they may subserve 
the accomplishment of his purpose. What does 
the king of Persia care about you or your ob- 
jects ? God can give him such a heart as he 
gave to Cyrus or to Artaxerxes, and incline 
him to favor the house of the Lord you are 
attempting to build. But prayer and looking 
to him is the hopeful way of proceeding. It 



200 MEMORIALS OF 

seems better to me, that you should be black- 
ened and vilified by wicked men, than that you 
should use the pen in crimination and recrimi- 
nation. I trust you will hear something from 
England in reply to your appeal for protection. 
If not, be sure some way will be opened by 
Him who says, c I will never leave you nor for- 
sake you.' We hope the dark days of your 
mission are almost passing away, and that bless- 
ings are in store for the Nestorians ; nor do I 
suffer myself to doubt this, if we, with faith 
and patience, wait for the development of 
God's purposes." 

At the meeting of the American Board of 
Missions, in September, " the subject of slavery 
was fully discussed, as it came up in connec- 
tion with missions among the Indians." My 
father says in writing to his brother : " The 
ultra abolitionists are dissatisfied that slave- 
holders, in any case, can be allowed to be 
Christians; but the scriptural rule is, credible 
evidence of piety, the only ground of admis- 
sion to the Christian Church. There was a 
fine discussion, and an excellent spirit through- 
out. I trust the report, based as it is on the 
Bible, will do much to clear away the mists 



CHARLES STODDARD. 201 

which hang about this subject. Our country, 
especially at the North, is making rapid ad- 
.vances in prosperity, and the accumulation of 
wealth. Oh that God's Spirit were turning 
men from sin to holiness ! I shall expect to 
hear good news from the places where you labor ; 
and you shall have our prayers for your success 
constantly." 

The tie between Mr. S. and his brother Da- 
vid the missionary was close, and the affec- 
tion for him and whole-hearted sympathy in his 
work constant. There were several reasons 
that would naturally tend to such a result. 
One of these was the disparity in age. My 
father was next to the eldest in the family, 
while David was the youngest. He was to him 
a child-brother. Again, my uncle's bright 
mind and enthusiastic temper easily enlisted 
affection, while afterwards his separation from 
home called out my father's tenderness and 
brotherly sympathy. But stronger and higher 
than all, was the bond that constrained each 
with all the ardor of his being, to consecrate 
his life, talents, and love to the same Saviour. 

In the missionary work, my father's heart 
was engrossed, and the ardent devotion of the 



202 MEMORIALS OF 

brothers to this object, for which Christ came, 
was a source of inspiration to work. It is im- 
possible to help feeling, while reading these let- 
ters, that their fraternal affection was deepened 
and widened by the oneness of their aims and 
efforts. 

My father was elected a member of the pru- 
dential committee of the A. B. C. F. M. in 
1832, while yet a young man, — the youngest 
ever chosen. From the time of this appointment, 
he never failed to be present in his place at the 
Tuesday afternoon meetings of this committee. 

In referring to this, I find, " In October, 1832, 
I was elected to the responsible office of mem- 
ber of the prudential committee of the A. B. 
C. F. M. ; a station of great importance, for 
which I feel incompetent. The acceptance of 
this trust has made it necessary to resign the 
Sabbath school with which I have been connect- 
ed more than eleven j^ears." " I have now 
arrived at thirty years of age, and have expe- 
rienced something of the Lord's dealings, and 
learned something of the deceitfulness of my 
own heart. If I have been kept from openly 
dishonoring the gospel, it is on account of the 
grace of God. I desire to become more holy. 
The Lord bestow his assisting grace, and lead 
me more in his ways." 



CHARLES STODDARD. 203 

No pressure of business kept him away, 
no engagement was allowed to prevent him 
from being punctual. Through the weekly 
communications there received, he not only 
kept awake to all the interests of missionaries 
in their fields of labor, but through their 
letters in detail, became informed of all the 
changes in condition and character of the dif- 
ferent countries which were year by year devel- 
oping. I remember that he sometimes came 
home very weary from these afternoons, par- 
ticularly when subjects of great importance 
had been discussed, or when the appropriations 
for the year were to be made. Still his zeal 
never flagged, and the last note he penned was 
one of a few lines only, to account for his 
unusual absence at the weekly meeting. His 
absences while journeying were timed with ref- 
erence to duties at the Missionary House, and 
he felt at no liberty to make them frequent or 
prolonged. 

So consistently did he act upon this, that 
I find, in a letter to his brother David, these 
words : — 

" It may surprise you a little to learn that I 
contemplate embarking for England during the 



204 MEMORIALS OF 

present month. For more than twenty-five 
years I have been very much confined with my 
various avocations and duties, and I feel the 
need of a little relaxation. It is not certain that 
I can leave home for ninety days. It has been 
my maxim through life, ' duty before pleasure ; ' 
and acting on this, I have not gone abroad as yet, 
though most of my brothers have done so." 

Rev. Dr. A. C. Thompson has kindly fur- 
nished, at my request, some reminiscences of 
my father, which are as interesting from the 
nice appreciation they show of traits in his 
character that might escape notice, as for the 
finished manner in which they are presented. 

" You ask for reminiscences of your honored 
father as I knew him in the committee-room of 
the American Board. 

" One of the distinct recollections of all who 
were there associated with him must be his 
habit of punctuality. He was always present, 
and always in season. I have never had the 
pleasure of being associated with a body of 
men who were so uniformly prompt in attend- 
ance upon official engagements as the prudential 
committee ; but no one of their number during 
the last twenty-five years surpassed your father 



CHARLES STODDARD. 205 

in the point now named. This characteristic 
was one exponent of his unwavering fidelity, 
his uniform and deep sense of responsibility. 
Any appointment or other duty to be met by 
him was accounted something sacred; and in 
respect to the time specified, no less than in 
other particulars. 

" In his seat at the committee-table, he exhib- 
ited noticeably the leading qualities desirable 
on the part of one holding such a position, — 
concentrated attention to business, ready compre- 
hension of the main elements of any case sub- 
mitted, a thoroughly common-sense attitude of 
mind, and firm adhesion to the settled princi- 
ples and methods of missionary administration. 
He was able to maintain the grace of silence 
till his turn for speaking came round, and then 
was never prolix in giving an opinion, but uni- 
formly proceeded at once to the main point, 
with an earnest, condensed, and often epigram- 
matic utterance. One feature of those deliver- 
ances was peculiarly characteristic, — an occa- 
sional, indeed not unfrequent, blending of quiet 
humor, which served an excellent purpose. The 
tension of mind during the sessions of the pru- 
dential committee is generally severe ; and his 
pleasant way, sometimes semi-playful, of putting 

18 



206 MEMORIALS OF 

things, would bring relief like a seasonable and 
appropriate alterative. 

" And then he was always cheerful and hope- 
ful. Despondency, foreboding and complaining 
seemed to have no place in his experience. 
Timidity, narrowness, or retreating in the work 
of gospel propagation, he could not sympathize 
with.. How many times, when the financial 
prospects of the board were dark, did he say 
with great resoluteness, ' The money is the 
Lord's : there is plenty of it. We have only to 
ask, and it will come ' ! 

" It would not be doing justice to my recol- 
lections of the committee-room, if I should fail 
of referring to numerous ten-minutes' talks 
with your father there, before the customary 
hour for business arrived. I have spoken of 
his punctuality. He was usually on the ground 
from five to fifteen minutes before the coming 
of most others who -were associated in the 
counsels of the place. I cannot deny that the 
probability of his presence thus seasonably had 
an influence on my own time of arrival. I-was 
conscious of an attraction there, and I always 
felt as if I had lost something if I was merely 
on hand at the precise moment for opening the 
session. The cordiality of his greeting, the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 207 

electric character of his almost unrivalled smile, 
his evident Christian sincerity, as seen in those 
frequent and somewhat confidential conferences, 
won my heart completely. 

" ' A man he seems of cheerful yesterdays, 
And confident to-morrows : with a face, 
Not worldly-minded, for it bears too much 
Of nature's impress, gayety and health, 
Freedom and hope ; but keen withal, and shrewd. 
His gestures note, and, hark ! his tones of voice 
Are all vivacious as his mien and looks.' 

" For matters abstruse, and for mere specula- 
tions, he seemed to have no fondness. He 
showed himself a master in the rare art of 
letting alone ; and seemed to have an intuitive 
perception of what those difficulties, personal, 
social, or administrative, are, which are either 
irremediable, or will solve themselves by not 
being meddled with. He was firm yet tolerant ; 
and not a particle of acerbity appeared to enter 
into his constitution. In sketching character, 
his hand, ' washed in innacency,' never would 
touch charcoal. There was such freedom from 
egotism and sentimentalism ; there was such 
cheery wit, never piercing but always lambent ; 
there were such genuine Christian gentleness 
and gentlemanliness ; his laugh was so hearty 



208 MEMORIALS OF 

and contagious, without ever becoming boister- 
ous, — that it Avould be very strange if I had 
not come to regard those interviews as among 
the choicest of recreations and refreshments. 

" We often conversed upon topics of Christian 
experience ; and he now and then raised ques- 
tions in regard to the meaning of passages of 
Scripture. There is no text which he quoted 
more frequently than this : ; If thine eye be 
single, thy whole body shall be full of light; " 
and I never detected any thing that looked like 
a dark corner in him. He helped to make it 
easier for me to conceive- what the fellowship 
of heaven must be, and pleasanter to anticipate 
the reunions which are in reserve. 

" Looking with yourself for the great family 
gathering, I remain very sincerely, 

" Your and your father's friend, 

"A. C. THOMPgOH." 

He wrote to his brother David as follows : — 

" Dear D., — Your graphic description of 
your journey by land to Tabreez much inter- 
ested us. I am glad that you were so kindly 
received by the functionaries there, and doubt 
not that the occurrences that have made your 
mission more known at the capital have excited 



CHARLES STODDARD. 209 

a friendly interest in the men in authority. At 
the same time, it will not do to depend on the 
civil arm, nor do you desire to do so. I hope 
you will not be disappointed in the new Russian 
Ambassador. I shall be glad to learn what 
impression he makes on you. My dear brother 
and sister are often in my thoughts and prayers. 
I hope and believe that you are growing in 
holiness, and have much spiritual enjoyment. 
I have often felt, that if Christians ^ould spend 
more of their time in praising God, they would 
enjoy more, and catch quicker the heavenly 
spirit. It is always timely to praise and admire 
our God and Redeemer. It is delightful to 
enumerate in prayer the causes for thanksgiving. 
Let us cultivate this more, and incite others to 
it. 

" Your last letter brought also blessed, joyful 
tidings. It seems most of your family were 
sitting at the feet of Jesus. If in prayer I 
have been enabled to exercise faith at all in 
reference to the conversion of the Nestorians, 
my faith has been very weak, and the result 
you detail was unexpected. Yet I have felt 
much encouragement for your mission. Brother, 
God highly honors you. What a blessed work 
you are engaged in ! What thrills of delight 

18* 



210 MEMORIALS OF 

during its progress! Be faithful unto death, 
and Christ will give you a crown of life. I 
know the ardor of your temperament, and it 
.would be strange if you were not likely to for- 
get that you possess a human body, frail and 
feeble. Do not overwork yourself, but husband 
your strength, and may the Lord spare you for 
many years' labor for him ! " 

" Dear Brother D., — A number of the 

family are to meet in N in a few days, 

where I hope to join them. I should be happy 
if our interesting family meeting of 1839 could 
be repeated, but this must not be. But may we 
not indulge in bright anticipations, on scriptural 
grounds, of a blessed family meeting on Mount 
Zion above, no member absent, no wanderer 
lost? 

" I have sent to the Missionary House a box 
in which are packed two wooden clocks of good 
quality. It gives me pleasure to send you any 
thing, and I shall rejoice to aid you by purchas- 
ing any thing you may order. We have had a sad 
blow this past week. Dr. Armstrong was present 
at our weekly meeting, on the 24th of Novem- 
ber, and set out on his return to New York the 
next afternoon. On the 25th, the steamer 'At- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 211 

] antic,' in which he left Norwich, foundered in 
a gale in the sound, and our worthy and excel- 
lent friend was one among nearly thirty passen- 
gers who perished by drowning. Thus has 
been taken away in the vigor of a most useful 
life, and in good health, a most devoted man of 
God. The piety of Dr. Armstrong was very 
prdminent. He was a cheerful Christian. He 
prayed and labored to promote the missionary 
cause, with all his powers, and was very success- 
ful in his department of labor. But God is wiser 
than we, and knows better than we when to call 
his servants home. We feel sorely afflicted by 
the bereavement. Dr. Armstrong left a widow 
and five children to mourn his sudden depar- 
ture, but they have the blessed promises made 
to the widow and the fatherless, for their sure 
support." 

I well remember the incident here narrated. 
It was a shock to the community, for the news- 
papers were not at that day, as at the present, 
so filled with fearful disasters. I also remember 
hearing that Dr. Armstrong was a great comfort 
to the terrified passengers, soothing and calm- 
ing them by his serene faith and lofty hope. 
He exemplified in his death the principle of his 



212 MEMORIALS OF 

life, and made men believe anew in the power 
of genuine Christian faith, in the most appalling 
circumstances. 

My father closes this letter with the remark : 

" I would not offer my advice, but I certainly 
shall think you wise if you do not mind any- 
public attack, but keep on your way. I should 
deprecate controversy, and I hope you will take 
this as one of those trials incident to fidelity in 
your work. Apostles and early Christians suf- 
fered all sorts of attacks, and there were no 
newspapers then to charge and reply, and I 
think their time was better occupied than it 
would have been in writing answers." 

To David, in regard to his thanks for the 
clocks, I find this : — 

" You speak of the clocks, and ask an expla- 
nation why they were sent. I think I shall 
let them tick out their own explanation. I 
hope they- will reach you safely, and I shall be 
much disappointed if they do not. I trust you 
will be able to regulate the time of all Northern 
Persia with the aid of these clocks, and Brother 
W 's suggestions and tools. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 213 

" How happy should I be to go as far as 
Oroomiah, and greet you ! But if I cannot do 
this, I can sympathize and rejoice with you in 
spirit, and this I do constantly. 

" You have doubtless heard, ere this, of the 
awful famine which is prevailing in Ireland, in 
which thousands are literally starving to death. 
Their condition has excited universal commis- 
eration in this country, and several hundred 
thousand dollars have been contributed by all 
classes of our citizens to buy food. Congress 
has placed two ships of war at the disposal of 
the people, to be loaded with provisions, and 
transported to Ireland. Ships of war employed 
on errands of mercy, - — how sublime ! The same 
day a vessel sailed from New York, for Mexico, 
loaded with shells and mortars ; the errands of 
the two ships, how different ! 

" I believe I have not alluded to the unhappy 
war in which our nation is engaged with Mexico, 
in which the blame is almost wholly our own, 
and in which we cannot enjoy either glory or 
reputation. I hope the providence of God will 
bring this to a speedy close ; that the gospel 
will so influence men's hearts that they will find 
it difficult or impossible to wage war with each 
other. We must hope and pray for the gospel 



214 MEMORIALS OF 

triumph, and this will heal all the wounds and 
woes of the world. 

" Your affectionate brother, C. S." 

During a number of years, Dr. Wood of 
Constantinople was associated in the mission 
work with my father. I remember his visits at 
our house during his sojourns in Boston. Their 
animated conversations I recall, and the glow of 
pleasure my father ever manifested when enjoy- 
ing the society of men of culture and intellec- 
tual acumen. He was himself ready in conver- 
sation on various themes of general interest, 
and showed no lack of reading or mental grasp 
when in the society of the most gifted persons. 
His intercourse with men of deep and broad 
culture was one of the choicest pleasures of his 
life. He sought it and valued it highly when he 
could enjoy it. The conversations, as I remem- 
ber them, were not dull, even to a child, but 
pointed with anecdote, varied with descriptions, 
and made earnest by Christian spirit, they could 
not fail to be improving. 

In this connection maybe introduced a recent 
letter to the writer from Dr. Wood, containing, 
as it does, another pleasant tribute to my 
father's memory : — 



CHARLES STODDARD. 215 

"I write with a difficulty which arises 
simply from my conscious inability to furnish 
what would be worthy of association with 
other tributes that will be given to the mem- 
ory of your revered and beloved father. Far 
abler pens than mine will delineate the traits 
which, in their combination, made up a char- 
acter of rarest Christian excellence manifested 
in all the relations, public and private, of his 
most useful life. 

" Mr. Stoddard ever seemed to me a beautiful 
illustration of .what divine grace can accomplish 
in connection with natural qualities of loveli- 
ness, in producing the style of manhood which 
is the nearest approach on earth to that which 
exists in perfection among the glorified. The 
charm of his piety was its unaffected sincerity 
and simplicity. None could come into contact 
with him without feeling the power of the 
unselfish spirit, the benevolence, purity, and 
holiness, which marked him a man of God. 
Full of life, buoyant and sunny even amid 
storms, he knew how to make pleasantry serve 
the higher ends of a life devoted to Christ, and 
drew, as with a magnet, others to the same 
source of joy from which he constantly drank. 

" My observation of Mr. Stoddard was chiefly 



216 MEMORIALS OF 

in such intercourse during eighteen years as my 
visits from New York to Boston (at least 
monthly for most of the time), in attendance 
on meetings of the prudential committee of the 
American Board, occasioned. From the time 
of Mr. H's death, he was chairman of the com- 
mittee. Whatever his business engagements 
(and they were many and pressing), they 
were never permitted to interfere with his pres- 
ence in the committee-room on every Tuesday 
afternoon. A little before three o'clock, he 
always appeared, greeting every one with a 
pleasant smile and cheerful word, and precisely 
at the moment called the committee to order. 
On questions discussed, his own opinion, accord- 
ing to the order observed, was given last, and 
seldom failed to irradiate the subject with some 
new light. However dark the hour, in times of 
embarrassment and peril, his cheerful trust and 
confident expectation of a good result were 
infectious. His short, incisive, and stirring 
appeals, sometimes made at the annual meetings 
of the board, can never be forgotten by those 
who heard them, — appeals in the highest degree 
effective because of the known character and 
acts which were behind them. 

"Among the most pleasing memories of my 



CHARLES STODDARD. 217 

life will ever remain Mr. Stoddard's kind, cour- 
teous, and sympathizing bearing towards me 
from the beginning to the end of my connection 
with the board as a secretary. He was to me 
a warm personal friend, whose removal from 
earth is a personal affliction." 

19 



VIII. 
TRAVELS ABROAD. 

1847. 

T~N March, 1847, my father sailed lor Europe, 
-*- with his wife and eldest daughter. To the 
children left behind, he sent frequent and fond 
letters. Before starting, he wrote to his daugh- 
ter a letter to be read the day of sailing. 

" Dear M., — You are about to be separated 
from us by a wider space and a longer period 
than ever before. We have made this journey, 
which we are about to undertake, a subject of 
prayer, and we hope that we are doing right 
in going. Our great anxiety is about our chil- 
dren. If we could be sure that they would 
daily cry unto the Lord in humble, earnest 
prayer, that they would daily read his holy 
word and strive to act by its precepts, we 
should go away in peace. May we not hope 
that will be the case with our daughter? Your 
grandmother's sight is not good, and while you 

218 



CHARLES STODDARD. 219 

are with her it will be affectionate if yon will 
ask her if she would not like to have you read 
to her, particularly a chapter in the Bible every 
day, if she wishes it or would be pleased with it. 
We shall wish to have you write us freely and 
fully whatever occurs to you from day to day." 

To his son when leaving him he writes: 
" How many times have my thoughts gone back 
to our dear home since I left yesterday ! Can I 
leave my young, inexperienced children without 
a guide ? Will they conduct as I shall approve ? 
Above all, will they please and honor God? 
Such queries as these have passed through my 
mind. Then I have thought that you were 
nearly two years older than I was when I went 
from my father's house, and was left in some 
degree to guide my own steps. I was, to be 
sure, in the family of my uncle ; but my re- 
straints were few, beyond what I imposed on 
myself. But I felt the need of the guidance 
of a heavenly friend ; and then I cried, ' My 
Father, thou art the guide of my youth.' And 
he did guide me. He led me in the paths of 
peace, and blessed be his name ! so will he keep 
and bless you, if you look to him in earnest 
prayer. Remember, my dear boy, that, — 



220 MEMORIALS OF 

1 Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, 
You are surrounded still with God.' 

" Will you give my love to the members of 
the family ? " 

Landing in England, one of his first visits 
was to Chester, the city where Matthew Henry ■ 
lived. " I went," he says, " to St. Paul's 
Cathedral, and have seen the tombs of the 
mighty dead. Among many of great interest, 
I found that of Howard the philanthropist, who 
labored to benefit criminals in all the prisons of 
Europe, and fell a victim to the plague." 

He visited Matlock and Haddon Hall, " saw 
the room where Byron wrote, with the articles 
and materials as he left them the last time he 
was there." " We have been to the grave of 
Dr. Watts, and John Bunyan, in Bunhill Fields 
burying-ground, and plucked a memorial from 
those interesting spots." 

Continuing his narrative to his daughter in 
another letter, there is a brief description of 
scenes with which he had become familiar in 
reading, and in which he was greatly interested. 
" Just before we left England, we visited the 
Isle of Wight, and the cottage of the Dairy- 
man, where his daughter lived and died. Her 



CHARLES STODDARD. 221 

niece showed us the Bible with her name writ- 
ten in it, ' Elizabeth Walbridge,' by her own 
hand. She lived here in an humble stone cot- 
tage covered with thatch, but what a glorious 
house eternal in the heavens she now inhabits ! 
We visited her grave, and read the inscription 
on her tombstone. We afterwards went to the 
church in Brading, where Legh Richmond 
preached, and talked some time with the clerk, 
who remembered Mr. Richmond well, and said 
he taught him to sing. I walked about the 
graveyard where little Jane used to study the 
inscriptions on the monuments, and after much 
search I found the stone with its inscription 
which Mr. Richmond set her to learn, and the 
next one which she learned of her own accord. 
You will find them in ' Little Jane the Young 
Cottager.' One of the lines is, — 

* Hail, glorious gospel, blessed truth, whereby 
We live with comfort, and with comfort die ! ' 

" We plucked a frail flower as a memorial of 
this little girl whose body sleep's here, while her 
immortal spirit is with her Saviour. The scen- 
ery of the Isle of Wight is enchanting, but I 
will not attempt to describe it, as Legh Rich- 
mond has done it much better than I could 

19* 



222 MEMORIALS OF 

Every thing appears just as lie represented it 
more than forty years ago. My dear child, may 
you be prepared, like little Jane, when you die, 
to join the company of the redeemed ones 
around the throne on high ! 

" You know, my dear child, that the life and 
conversation will show whose disciples we are. 
"lis not mere profession, or ability to pray, that 
decides the question, but self-distrust, benevo- 
lence, purity of thought, desires to do good — 
these, and all the train of Christian graces, will 
bud and grow and blossom when there is true 
piety in the heart. Learn to control yourself, 
and rule your own spirit." 

These extracts are given to show the care and 
time which my father gave abroad, as well as at 
home, to educate the minds and hearts of his 
children. To his son he says : — 

" We came to Cambridge, on the River Cam, 
last evening. Here are seventeen colleges, each 
having as many buildings. There are about 
twenty-six hundred students. The parks and 
walks about the buildings are beautiful. I 
attended worship to-day with the students in 
the university chapel. Two or three came up 
to me after the worship, to ask what time the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 223 

services commenced in the afternoon. I pre- 
sume they were freshmen, and mistook me for a 
professor. I sat with the faculty, which would 
add color to the surmise, for I wear a white 
cravat. I shall be glad to do all I can to pro- 
mote your education. I want you to be a 
thorough scholar, a thoroughly educated young 
man. You know what I desire for you more 
than any thing else in the world. My dear son, 
may you enjoy spiritual blessings in rich abun- 
dance ! Watch and pray, pray and watch. 
Avoid the very appearance of evil. Live for a 
great and good end. Often bring it before your 
mind : it will strengthen your good resolutions, 
and encourage you under difficulties. I shall 
await your next letter with interest." 

He writes to his daughter, from Paris, the 
following description of the " Jardin des 
Plantes:" — 

" In the open ground there are rows of forest 
trees, containing every variety of every kind of 
tree that will grow in the open air in this cli- 
mate. Many of these trees interested me much, 
but none so much as the noble cedar of Leba- 
non, which was brought here in 1735, and has 
been growing in this garden for one hundred 



224 MEMORIALS OF 

and twelve years. The branches grow out hori- 
zontally, and the whole tree is majestic and 
graceful, and unlike any tree that I have seen. 

" These cedars were such as Solomon used in 
building the temple, and I can readily see that 
he could obtain abundance of timber from such 
large trees as this. Besides the forest trees, 
there are large enclosures containing every 
variety of fruit-trees, besides large hot-houses 
for tropical shrubs. One part of the garden is 
devoted to wild beasts, birds, and reptiles of all 
sorts, who here live in their separate enclosures, 
and are shown to the public daily. In another 
part of the garden is a building five hundred 
feet long, where specimens of botany, petrified 
wood, and minerals, are arranged ; in another, 
stuffed birds of all climes and of all plumage 
are tastefully arranged in regular order. The 
birds alone number many thousand ; then beasts 
stuffed and arranged fill many large rooms, till 
the eye is weary with looking at them. Then 
comes the department of comparative anatomy, 
where the learned Baron Cuvier spent forty 
years of his life ; where skeletons of every ani- 
mal, including the human race, are classified in 
the most perfect manner. Then the bones of 
animals, the bones or the head of a fish, the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 225 

teeth of an elephant and a lion. But my time 
fails in detailing this great establishment. 
Here is a large circular building where lectures 
arc delivered by the most learned professors in 
the various branches of natural science, open to 
the public without charge. 

" To-morrow we expect to set out for Geneva, 
a distance of three hundred miles, all of which 
w r e perform by diligence." 

From Switzerland he writes with enthusiasm 
of the " everlasting mountains," seeing the 
" power of the great Creator illustrated at every 
step of their progress," and describes some of 
their experiences. " We ascended the Righi to 
obtain a varied and extended view of ' Alps on 
Alps.' Your uncle and myself made the toil- 
some march of four hours on foot (an eleva- 
tion of five thousand feet) before sunset ; but 
there were too many clouds to have a fine view. 
The next morning, however, we saw the sun 
rise in cloudless splendor, and gild with his 
golden rays the snow-white peaks one after 
another. We had slept on the top of the 
mountain, and rose at dawn of day to enjoy the 
view. How suitable, at such a time and place, 
to lift up our hearts and our voices in a psalm 



223 MEMORIALS OF 

of praise to our great Creator, the former of 
this wondrous frame ! After descending the 
mountain, we travelled to Zurich on the lake of 
the same name. I heard a sermon in English 
and in German. The latter was preached in 
the cathedral where the reformer Zwingle com- 
menced preaching the doctrines of the gospel 
to the astonished listeners. It is now, and has 
been since his day, a place of Protestant wor- 
ship. . . . We reached Paris, after a two- 
months' absence, and found letters with good 
news. I find Paris the same busy world that 
I left it two months ago. 'Tis a lively gay 
place. The people sit upon the sidewalk, 
and sip their coffee, and chat, and amuse 
themselves looking in at the windows of the 
shops, which are filled with jewelry, trinkets, 
and bonbons. It requires bat little to amuse 
a Frenchman. I see many of the laboring men 
singing at their work, which, with us, would 
be a very unusual sight. I bought at three 
cents per pound sweet grapes such as grow 
upon our vines, and I find bread and grapes 
make a very good breakfast." 

His letters were no labored descriptions of 
what he saw, nor attempts at fine writing. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 227 

Nor are they given as containing any thing 
original on the subject of foreign travel, which 
to-day, whatever it anight 'have been then, is 
illustrated by a thousand entertaining and in- 
structive methods. But the way in which 
these scenes ijiet his eye, and influenced him, 
as well as the pains he took to interest his chil- 
dren, seem worthy of a record, while the main 
purpose of his life is kept as distinctly in view 
far away as at home. 

During the year 1847, the " Family Record " 
gives memoranda of his journey through foreign 
countries. He puts down here, " that the jour- 
ney from Paris to Geneva was performed in a 
diligence." He thus visited the smaller cities 
of France, and became acquainted with the life 
of the peasants. He leisurely surveyed the 
scenery, and entered far more into a true appre- 
ciation of the country than is possible in this 
day of railways. Arrived at Geneva, he " passed 
an interesting hour at the house of Dr. Merle 
D' Aubigne ; also saw the library of fifty thousand 
volumes, with manuscripts of Luther and 
Calvin." 

He had an interview with Dr. Malan, which 
he thus describes : " Dr. M. alluded to the cold 
character of American piety, their doubts and 



228 MEMORIALS OF 

pride, and want of simple faith. He illustrated 
the doubting Christian by a daughter trying 
to love her father, but withholding her love till 
she was sure he was her father. What sort of 
stuff would such love be made of? Dr. Malan, 
at the close of our interview, sweetly led us in 
a simple and heavenly prayer. Thus closed 
our deeply interesting visit." 

Chillon, Berne, the beauties and glories of the 
Alps, the Rhine and its castles and memories, 
were seen leisurely, and enjoyed as well as appre- 
ciated. In visiting England he manifested the 
spirit of a child separated when young from his 
mother, yet conscious of the respect and affection 
due to her as holding such a relation to him. He 
visited its cities, and had opportunities of study 
ing the home life of its people. He notes the 
cathedrals, and the impression of them on his 
mind. His reading, as well as his mature age, 
had prepared him for enjoyment, and his habit 
of mind made the conservative element in Eng- 
lish customs and ideas agreeable to him. His 
note-book, which does not pretend to take the 
form either of a journal or of a narrative, makes 
discriminating references to the journey, and to 
the impressions it produced. On his return to 



CHARLES STODDARD. 229 

Paris, he describes a part of one day in this 
manner; "Five minutes before three o'clock, 
we went to the Bourse. What a -scene ! what 
a medley! How curious to look from the 
galleries upon such a crowd of gentlemen buy- 
ing and selling ! Were preachers of the gospel 
as energetic for what can be possessed without 
money and without price, as those brokers to 
dispose of their stock to the anxious bidder, 
they would be called enthusiasts. We visited 
the Chamber of Deputies, and closed the day 
with a dinner at the celebrated restaurant of 
4 Trois Fr£res,' walking after dinner in the 
Palais Royal." The note-book closes with: 
" Thus we have been absent from Boston more 
than six months. We have met with no acci- 
dent or harm in all our wanderings. We have 
not been detained a day by illness. Our mer- 
cies have been very great." 
20 



IX. 

DOMESTIC CHARACTERISTICS. — 
PUBLIC SPIRIT. 

18^04851. 

IT sometimes seems, while reading the letters 
and recalling the facts of my father's life, 
that he could have had little time for that 
retired meditation which is so strengthening in 
spiritual growth. He certainly could command 
no entire leisure, neither would it have suited 
his temperament. But he did love the peace 
of rural scenes and homes, and the quiet of the 
Sabbath. I think, as he found himself more 
and more in the world, he made it more his 
purpose to live above it, and so abode in an 
atmosphere of peace, that could not be shaken 
by outside events. The regularity of his life 
made certain to him the early morning hours 
for retirement ; while his Saturday afternoons, 
after certain ministries to church-members 
had been accomplished, were spent in quiet 
thought. His life may throw some light on the 

230 



CHARLES STODDARD. 231 

puzzling problem, how to- combine constant 
activity in business with a continual mental 
and spiritual growth. His letters show this 
far better than any essay, and, to keep pace 
with them, it is necessary to turn to those 
which were written to a brother separated from 
him widely and for years. That brother he 
kept informed of all which related to the 
family connections, by the unfailing regularity 
of his letters ; letters, too, full of affection, and 
containing many a discussion of broad ques- 
tions of public interest and philanthropy. The 
fraternal sympathy which could be so little 
stimulated by personal presence and inter- 
change was thus made active and firm, and 
proved a source of happiness to the brothers. 
A selection has been made from the multitude 
of these letters, though there is scarcely one of 
them that does not contain something which 
would be helpful to many minds. 

After his travels in Europe in 1847, Mr. 
Stoddard writes, on the ship, describing his 
voyage home : — 

" Dear Brother A., — A kind Providence 
has preserved us amid storms ; for eight days, 
not a moment of fair wind, but gales alter- 



232 MEMORIALS OF 

nately from the north-west and west, which 
tried the strength of our ship as well as the 
patience and equanimity of the passengers. 
On the eighth day the scene was sufficiently 
terrific. The gale was increased to such a 
degree as to produce apprehensions for the 
safety of the ship in the mind of the com- 
mander. The seas swept the deck, and struck 
the ship with great force. All on board, or 
nearly every one, were sick, though I was an 
exception. I cannot tell you how much soup 
was spilled, or how many tea-pots have been 
thrown over. Suffice it to say, this has passed, 
and we have the prospect, soon, of reaching 
Halifax ; and, if we have no more storms, reach- 
ing home after a voyage of seventeen days." 

After his arrival, the first news that greeted 
him was the death of his eldest brother, then 
a professor in Middlebury College. My father 
says : " He had been ten days dead when we 
reached Boston; and I was not permitted to 
take him by the hand, as I greatly longed to do, 
and receive his parting words. But I would 
turn, and ask, what personal improvement 
can I make of this stroke, so that it may pro- 
mote my spiritual growth ? A breach has been 



CHARLES STODDARD. 233 

made in our family circle, and I am left in the 
front rank. Let us each so live that* when we 
are summoned away, we may reach the heaven 
w^hich Jesus has prepared ! " 

In March, 1848, he writes again : — 

"Dear Brother A., — I have your letter 
of 9th March, and note your strong sentiments 
in favor of liberty. I think I should hardly go 
as far as you in my idea of a free government. 
I have great apprehensions for the stability of 
the French republic. They are becoming by 
far too democratic ; nor do I think the sober 
part of the French population are easy about 
the state of affairs. The multitude, however, 
give three cheers for France and liberty, and it 
is not popular to withhold your adhesion to the 
new order of things. 

" There is an entire want of confidence felt 
here in the stability of the government, and 
scarce any exchange on France is either bought 
or sold. The final results of this disturbance 
are not at all clear to my mind. God will 
overrule this and every other overturning in 
this world to promote the kingdom of the 
Redeemer whose right it is to reign. When 
we cannot derive satisfaction from the move- 

20* 



234 MEMORIALS OF 

ments of men, there is a great sense of rest 
in feeling that God is on the throne governing 
nations, 4 causing the wrath of man to praise 
him, and restraining the remainder of wrath.' 
The arrival of the steamers is eagerly watched, 
and the popular current is decidedly in favor of 
revolution ; but calm and thinking men are by 
no means satisfied with the look of affairs in 
France." 

"Dear Brother A., — I am glad you enjoy 
your present church and its worship. I have 
a very high regard for the memory of many 
English Episcopalians who have long since 
ceased from their labors on earth. I never tire 
in reading the works of Dr. Scott, John Newton, 
Wilberforce, Charles Simeon, Noel, and a long 
list of worthies who have cherished the Episco- 
pal form and ritual to the end of their days. I 
fell in love with Hannah More after she was 
seventy, and without ever seeing her; and I 
owe much of my knowledge of solid scriptural 
divinity to the writings of divines connected 
with the Establishment. 

" It is to be regretted, so it seems to me, that 
in England the Episcopal Church is so tied 
to the state, and hampered by a hierarchy and 



CHARLES STODDARD. 235 

parliamentary enactments. I notice that you 
have been reading Macaulay's History. We 
have all read it here. It has been sold all over 
the country at twenty cents a volume, and in 
best octavo style, four hundred and fifty pages, 
at seventy-five cents. This book should open 
the eyes of reflecting men, among the Tories in 
England, to the evils of Church and State. 

" Thus far this season we have had pleasant 
weather, and small symptoms of autumn and 
winter. Yet winter is surely approaching, and 
will soon be upon us. Season after season glides 
almost imperceptibly away, and it is only when 
we stop and look back, that we adequately realize 
how rapidly our lives are speeding their course. 

* 'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours, 
And ask them what report they bore to heaven.' 

'Tis wise to compare our conduct with the 
Scripture standard of action, that we may have 
in the future no cause of unavailing regrets. 
God give us grace so to live that we may not 
be dismayed at the end of our course, but our 
eternity be joyful and blessed ! " 

In speaking of a friend, just departed, he 
closes his letter with these words : " Who says 



236 MEMORIALS OF 

this world is not a vale of tears ? The gospel 
illumines the pathway to the grave, and gives 
consolation to mourning survivors. Nothing 
else can. 

* Hail, glorious gospel, blessed truth, whereby 
We live with comfort, and with comfort die \ 99f 

" Dear, Brother A., — I have before me 
your letter of the 10th, and your description of 
the place selected for your summer quarters. 
The description is enchanting, and I doubt not 
the reality is much more so. How I should 
love to go down with you at evening and enjoy 
the beautiful sunset behind the 'jagged peaks 
of the steep hills ' ! Then the sloping lawn, 
and the lake reposing at its foot ; the luxurious 
bath, how delightful ! how well calculated to 
restore the energies of the body and mind worn 
by care and the pressure of daily duties of life ! 
Our summer retreat is a point of land which 
makes out boldly into the sea, and is bound 
by jagged rocks against which the spray dashes. 
There is a narrow opening in the rocks, disclos- 
ing a quiet little dell with sand bottom, into 
which the sea makes its way at full tide, where 
we can bathe with all serenity and quiet. A 
most secluded place it is. Often, from our 



CHARLES STODDARD. 237 

retreat we shall look out and strain our eyes to 
see you, and what we cannot discern with the 
organ of vision, we will allow imagination to 
supply. May you have much quiet enjoyment 
in this sequestered place, and may the Good 
Shepherd watch over and bless you ! " 

April, 1851. 

" Dear Brother A., — In your last you 
express a regret that your time is taken up so 
much with business matters to the exclusion of 
other and better things, but do not see how to 
get out of the difficulty except by giving up 
business altogether. With your active habits, 
and love for employment, this would not be 
wise : few are fitted for a life of leisure. CoukT 
you not, by thought and planning, redeem some 
hours daily for reading, meditation, and study ? 
Your business is so systematized that I suppose 
you could make it a rule to take, say, an hour 
after breakfast, for your private use ; an hour 
in which by regularity you could accomplish 
something. I am persuaded that a young, 
active business man may command some time 
daily for literary or religious purposes, but it 
can hardly be done save by a rigid plan. While 
in the discharge of our daily duties, most 
of our opportunities of doing good occur, and 



238 MEMORIALS OF 

if these are seized and improved the day is 
spent to some good purpose. Certainly, as we 
advance in life it is not desirable for us to be 
more engrossed with business, but the great 
attainment of the Christian, after which he 
should strive, is to carry the love and service 
of his Master into all his employments and 
recreations. 

"I am interested in the account of the 
journey you have lately taken; and well can 
I sympathize with you in your enthusiasm 
over the lovely valley of the Wye. Well do I 
remember the tree growing up in the church at 
Ross. I am reading to my*wife the memoirs of 
T. Fowell Buxton, the British philanthropist ; 
a noble disinterested character. It makes me 
feel as if I had never done any thing for the 
cause of my Lord, when I see such herculean 
efforts as he put forth at the hazard of health, 
and even of life itself, that he might secure 
freedom for the enslaved. 

" We unite in love. 

" Affectionately, 

"0. S." 

He does not forget his parents, or his filial 
duty to them. He tells his brother D , in a 



CHARLES STODDARD. 239 

letter dated March, 1847: u The first of the 

present month, I went up to N to visit our 

parents. They appeared very well, have had 
excellent health through the winter, and bid 
fair, as far as human foresight can tell, to live 
for many years to come. I am pleased to notice 
by your letter that you bathe daily. I always 
use cold water all over, when I rise ; in winter 
by candle-light, and I have not failed for six 
months, no matter how stormy or unpleasant, to 
walk around the common, one mile and a quar- 
ter, before breakfast. In the coldest mornings it* 
is an hour after I rise before I see a fire, and 
then I do not wish to go near one." 

A letter from his mother is here inserted, 
which refers to some of the incidents of her 
life, and associations with him : — 

" My deab, Sok, — When your thoughts turn 
to the home of your childhood, do you think 
of your parents as solitary and desolate because 
our children are far away, and our family com- 
prises only five individuals ? It is not so. We 
are neither cheerless nor lonely, and have many 
hours of enjoyment, besides our books and 
weekly papers. Your father often finds some- 
thing to interest and amuse him in his daily 



240 MEMORIALS OF 

walks, and our fireside is frequently enlivened 
by an afternoon or evening call from friends 
and acquaintances. The young ladies are go 
attentive to me, that I sometimes incline to 
fancy myself a favorite with them. The prox- 
imity of W.'s residence is a pleasant and favor- 
able circumstance. 

" We have been making an effort here to aid 
and sustain the c Board of Missions ; ' and I think 
it may be more beneficial in its consequences to 
us than to them. Ten matrons of the Dorcas 
Society volunteered to visit every family who 
meet with us for worship in the First Church, 
and invite the female members to increase their 
subscription. On the Sabbath that Brother 
J passed here, Mr. W preached a ser- 
mon on Christian liberality, from 2 Cor. viii., 
first five verses. It produced a mighty move- 
ment in the hearts of this people. I have never 
seen any thing like it. It was not necessa^ to 
say any thing. They were almost waiting with 
the money in their hands, to make an offering to 
the Lord. . . . 

" Dear son, yesterday morning I had been 
reading some of the Psalms of David, and med- 
itating upon the goodness of God to me and 
my family, recounting his mercies from day to 



CHARLES STODDARD. 241 

day, and looking back through a long life, on 
all the way an unseen hand has led and guided 
me to more than threescore years and ten ; the 
rich blessings he has bestowed upon me and 
my husband and children, all of them as I 
trust, taught of God, and made partakers of 
his grace ; their lives preserved, though in perils 
oft ; the enjoyment of their reason continued 
to them, and good health, and so much worldly 
prosperity, it is probable, as is for their best 
good; honored, too, as instruments of doing 
much good in their Redeemer's service, — while 
I was musing, the fire burned. I said to myself, 
I will take my pen and write to Charles in the 
fulness of my heart. Some family duties first 
required my attention. I then returned to my 
purpose, but, alas ! my theme was forgotten, all 
that I intended to write, nor did I recollect it 
till I was writing my name. I then laid away 
the paper resolving to confess to you the truth. 
This, dear son, is an epitome of my life. And 
will it ever be thus ? shall I always live at this 
poor dying rate ? I am active in various ways, 
and seem to possess almost the vigor and elas- 
ticity of youth, without a pain or infirmity to 
remind me that the shadows of evening are fast 
gathering around me. I have been obliged to 

21 



242 MEMORIALS OF 

lay aside my pen by the entrance of Cousin 

W E . He will take tea and pass the 

night with us. But I must close, after wishing 
an interest in your prayers foT your affectionate 
mother." 

The correspondence of my father was unusu- 
ally large. As an instance of this fact, I find 
him saying in a letter to his son, after an 
absence of four months, " This is the last half- 
sheet of a ream of paper that I have had since 
I have been here. How many letters have I 
written ? " The reams were of good old- 
fashioned Ze££er-paper. He always encouraged 
letter -writing in his children, not only by his 
example, but by criticism and commendation 
when he thought it would stimulate improve- 
ment or cultivate ease in style. I find, during 
the college terms that he not only wrote to his 
son who was absent from the city, but sent 
boxes, of which in regard to one he says, — 

" I have sent what you ask, a foot-ball and a 
Greek grammar ; fit emblems of study and ex- 
ercise. The main business' is the study, the 
foot-ball is the recreation. The one must ever 
be kept subordinate to the other. Yet most 
practitioners strive to make the foot-ball rise 



CHARLES STODDARD. 243 

higher than Greek grammars or even colleges. 
I wish you all success both with your head and 
your feet." 

Somewhat later, when the son had gone to 
college, he writes, — 

" My dear Son, — Until you have pro- 
gressed much further on in life, and yourself 
sustain the relation of a parent, it will not be 
easy for you to understand all the feelings 
which crowd my mind, now that you have given 
us the parting salutation, and have actually 
commenced your college course. Sometimes I 
recur to my example, and the influence for good 
that I have tried to exert over you during the 
past years. This train of thought suggests how 
imperfect has been my example, and how fre- 
quently I have come short in the illustration 
in my life, of the holy principles I profess. I 
think, too, of my own boyhood and youth, and 
feel certain that my greatest safeguard against 
evil influences was my slow and deliberate way 
of forming acquaintances. This I never did in 
a hurry. There are in almost every collection 
of youth, some who appear at first quite plau- 
sible, and whose attentions and apparent kind- 
ness are much beyond the common run. By 



244 MEMORIALS OF 

such means they insinuate themselves into the 
intimacy of the unreflecting, gain their confi- 
dence, and lead them aside to their ruin, 
sometimes by poisoning their minds with 
infidel thoughts, or impure allusions, again by 
ridiculing what is good, and trifling with serious 
things. The old proverb, c A man is known by 
the company he keeps,' is true in all mixed 
communities, and a student in college will soon 
have a character according to the associates he 
admits to his intimacy. I have already said so 
much on the importance of first steps that I 
will not enlarge. 

" Be known as one governed by principle, as 
an enemy to disorder, as a diligent, exemplary 
student, and you will go on with honor to your- 
self, and reflect credit on the institution." 

Another letter to his son follows : — 

" My dear Sox, — Your letter is before me, 
from which I am happy to know that your 
health is good and that you have been regular 
in your attendance on daily prayers and recita- 
tions. I have anticipated this from the habits 
you have formed, and I have also anticipated 
your rank in your class. Now, as to the feel- 
ing you describe, of 4 not accomplishing any 



CHARLES STODDARD. 245 

thing, you see no effect of your labor.' I sup- 
pose you have reflected that this is by no means 
peculiar to college-life. Take for example, an 
apprentice to a mechanic. He serves a seven- 
years course, and when free has onlv the suit 
of clothes he stands in. But then he has good 
health, two hands, a thorough knowledge of a 
good trade, and he is independent. Take a 
lawyer. He goes through ' Bluestone's Lamen- 
taries,' and other volumes equally dry. He 
copies papers, and draws contracts, for his mas- 
ter, and at the end of his term, what has he 
accomplished ? If diligent and faithful, he has 
qualified himself for a high stand at the bar. 

" In subsequent life it is by no means uncom- 
mon for men to pass days and weeks, if not 
months and years, without accomplishing any 
thing. Dr. Sutton, missionary in Cuttach, a 
province of Orissa India, near the temple of 
Juggernaut, went there with others to estab- 
lish that mission twenty-six years ago. The 
English residents ridiculed the idea of doing 
any thing under the nose of Juggernaut. The 
idolaters mocked and taunted them. How- 
ever, they kept steadily at work, and, with 
prayer and fasting, waited on the Lord. For 
seven years they had not one convert, yet 
21* 



246 MEMORIALS OF 

with unshaken faith in the promises of God, 
went on in their labors. At the end of that 
period, they had the joy to see a priest of Jug- 
gernaut avow himself a convert, cast off his 
priestly garments, and come as an humble sinner 
to the feet of Jesus. From that time the work 
went on, and now they have Christian churches, 
and Christian villages, and native preachers, and 
a goodly company of followers of the Lamb. Is 
the feeling to which you refer, owing to the im- 
patience of youth, to arrive at the result by a 
short process? But this is not the way any 
valuable end is attained. How slow the process 
of laying broad and deep the foundation of the 
future structure ! But by patient continuance, 
day after day, week after week, the building 
begins to rise, and by and by the top-stone is 
laid with rejoicing. To me it seems as if a 
remedy for this oppressive feeling would be 
found in proposing to yourself a high and noble 
end, which in all your course you keep steadily 
in view as the racer does the goal. And thus 
animated, you will run with patience, and walk 
and not be weary or faint. There is much 
drudgery to be gone through in every depart- 
ment, but where the end is exalted and desir- 
able, the way to it, though thorny and 
unpleasant, is at least endurable. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 247 

"With regard to the friend of whom you 
wrote : he should be kept above despondency, 
but not above the necessity for active exertion 
and patient self-denial. I dare say you will rear 
son with yourself, that ' if these sons of poverty 
enter the lists, and struggle hard for an educa- 
tion, under so many disadvantages, certainly 
those like me, who have every want supplied, 
should put forth all our powers to rise to the 
highest point in literary and moral attainment 
of which we are capable.' . . . 

" That a man has some property, is no dis- 
advantage in the profession of the ministry. I 
think where a person does not feel a necessity 
for entering this department for a support, he 
can be more clear as to the purity of his 
motives.. Let me have your views of this, and 
other themes, as often as you are able." 

To a young minister, a brother-in-law, who asks 
him how he is employed, he writes in 1853, — 

" On the Sabbath, I have a Bible-class of 
twenty-two young men, five or six students m 
Harvard University, which to me is very inter- 
esting, and during the past year there have 
been several conversions among them. My en- 
gagements at the Missionary House you know 



248 MEMORIALS OF 

something of. I act as treasurer of the Old 
South Church, as well as hold the office of dea- 
con, each involving many duties. I look after 

the property of Mrs. , provide her with 

money, and do the same for other widows. I 
have some family cares, and these, together with 
my business, leave me less time than I could 
wish for reading. By improving what I have, I 
manage to accomplish something. I have just 
finished the memoir of two Scotch brothers, 
Haldane by name, who were highly instrumental 
in the growth of religion in Scotland. I should 
be pleased to have you see the volume. 

"I have just been to visit my aged father, 
and I left him comfortable and cheerful. You 
have doubtless noticed the death of Mr. Amos 
Lawrence, a good man and public benefactor. 
He has been unwearied in his charities, and for 
twenty years has done little else than seek out 
the proper objects, and relieve them. His 
funeral was attended by a large concourse at 
Brattle-street Church, and his memory is pre- 
cious among all classes of our citizens. 

" We have recently sent out two companies of 
missionaries to Western Asia, and hope to send 
more ere long. I hope the mission cause will 
be remembered by your people, and an increas- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 249 

ing amount yearly contributed to its advance- 
ment." 

The same year lie writes to his daughter, 
absent while pursuing studies, — 

" My dear Daughter, — The close of your 
letter reminds me to say, that I hope you will 
daily take a long walk in the open air ; you 
know how important this is to health. I see 
you have six lessons per week, — two in sing- 
ing, two in piano, two in French, — equal to 
one a day except the Sabbath, and, if faith- 
fully attended to, they will absorb most of 
your time. Yet if you have system and plan, 
you can accomplish much, and reserve time for 
walking. 

" I think you have done wisely, my daughter, 
to commit to paper an account of your journey 
West. I feel happy that I had it in my power 
to take you on such an instructive and pleasant 
excursion. You know that such journeys are 
costly, and that if we spend our money in 
travelling, we cannot spend it in other things 
which might be agreeable, but are not necessary. 
I have thought it was wise to use some in this 
way, even if, as a consequence, we deny ourselves 
in other things." 



250 MEMORIALS OF 

Again, on his birthday, he wrote to the: 
same : — 

" My dear M., — I thank you for your sweet 
remembrances of me. I spent a little season in 
6 Bethany ' this morning, and had some pleasant 
views from the eastern slope of Olivet. The 
4 friends of Christ ' who once resided there are 
not there now ; Lazarus, whom he once raised 
from the dead has returned again to the land of 
silence, but Jesus lives and reigns, and we shall 
reign with him. 

" We had a pleasant Sabbath. Thirteen joined 
the church, seven of them young men. A full 
congregation. Mr. M. preached on c growth in 
grace.' " 

The pleasure little gifts gave my father, and 
his replies, were ample reward to any one who 
offered tokens to him. 

On his birthday, writing to his wife he 
says : — 

" By the date of this letter, you can with pro- 
priety speak of all the way in which my heav- 
enly Father has led me these forty years in the 
wilderness. I occupied an hour or two yester- 
day in reviewing my past history, present condi- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 251 

tion, and future prospects, and I am sure I 
have abundant reason to speak well of my gra- 
cious God. He has manifested himself to me 
in so many ways of kindness and mercy that 
it would be the height of ingratitude not to 
acknowledge his goodness. Nor can I doubt 
him for the future. I feel that I can commit 
you and our dear children, as well as myself, 
with confidence into his hands. I rejoice to do 
this, and I would not alter a circumstance of 
my condition contrary to his will. I have made 
a call, and had a long conversation this after- 
noon with our friend G . He is much de- 
pressed, and is physically worn and weak, full 
of doubt. I told him that God would take 
care of him and his, if he only trusted him, 
and he need not dwell on the future. How im- 
portant to seek the pearl of great price when 
young, and go on cheerfully serving God 
through joy and through sorrow ! I think we 
ought to try to be cheerful, whatever betides us ; 
and if we cherished habitually a thankful spirit, 
there would be little complaining around us. 

" Prof. W has a son to be ordained to- 
morrow ; and his father preaches the sermon. 
How delightful it must be for a father to put 
the finishing stroke to his son's preparation for 



252 MEMORIALS OF 

usefulness ! Few, comparatively, have such 
happiness. Most are contented if they bat 
train their children respectably in the world. I 
can imagine no greater joy than to see our chil- 
dren walking in the truth. I am glad that you 

are to visit the family of C . I think with 

you that we ought to deny ourselves to make 
our friends happy, and who shall say that we 
do not thus receive true pleasure ? Did you 
think, from what I said, that I disliked to have 
others do for me ? I like to be waited on, and 
as I grow older I am more and more willing for 
this. If I have not manifested this trait to you, 
it was because I thought you did already too 
much waiting and serving. You think it takes 
money to live ? I long ago found that out, and 
if I had not gathered together a little, before I 
assumed the duties of head of a family, I fear 
some of you would have gone supperless to bed. 
But we can learn to live and use and enjoy 
without anxiety." 

Again an extract from a letter to his wife 
says : — 

" The first thing to be desired for our chil- 
dren or for ourselves, is a personal interest in 
the salvation brought by the gospel. Money, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 258 

advantages of. education, position, influence, all 
adventitious worldly advantages shrink, when 
compared with a title to a heavenly inheritance, 
and this may be attained. Why should not 
oiir children hear us express frequently the 
conviction of our hearts, that the chief concern 
for them, as for ourselves, is to secure the favor 
of God ? Why should not all our plans of life 
be controlled and modified by this purpose? 
True, we cannot convert them. It is the work 
of God's Spirit. But we can pray with them 
individually, and for them. And we can speak 
to them of the preciousness of Christ, and tell 
them what he has done for us. 

" I long to know that our children are in the 
Redeemer's fold. 'Tis my chief anxiety, with 
regard to them, that they may walk with God 
on earth, and dwell with him in heaven. I 
think it wise frequently to review our purpose 
and controlling aim of life. Is it to please God 
and serve him ? or is it some worldly aim we 
seek ? A single eye to his glory in all we do, 
will make our whole body full of light, and our 
path clear." 

During a time of religious interest in college, 
he writes to his son : — 
22 



254 MEMORIALS OF 

" Dear C, — I have daily carried you on my 
heart to the throne of grace, that you might be 
quickened in your Christian course, and be 
enabled to exert an influence for Christ. From 
your letter, I cherish the hope that God has 
heard my prayers. You will find, that if you 
desire to do just what God would have you in 
all things, your peace will flow as a river. 

" I have had some precious seasons this win- 
ter, and have been led as I hope, to some 
wrestlings with God, and think he has heard 
my prayer for more personal devotion to his ser- 
vice. I am glad to inform you that the interest 
in religion continues here, and our Sabbath 
school has increased." 

Shortly after, he writes to the same : — 

"A few evenings ago, at the close of a 
stormy day, we were permitted to witness a 
most brilliant rainbow. The sun was -near the 
horizon, and shone out with great clearness. 
The drops of rain were falling fast, a dense 
black cloud covered the eastern heavens, and 
upon this, with one foot resting on the ocean 
and the other on the land, the bow of promise 
in all its brilliant colors, was painted. Your 
mother, M., and myself gazed upon it with 



CHARLES STODDARD. 255 

delight for nearly half an hour. When the 
sun set, leaving behind a most gorgeous drapery 
of golden tints, all of us felt it was a most rare 
exhibition of the works of God. I thought of 
the bow in the clouds which was exhibited to 
Noah, as a token of the covenant which God 
was pleased to enter into with the patriarch. 
Certainly we should be reminded by such ex- 
hibitions, of a covenant-keeping God, whose 
promise will not fail to all that put their trust 
in him. 

"Nearly a year of your college course has 
gone. I would encourage you in your efforts 
to attain eminence as a scholar and a Christian. 

"Are you inclined to say smart and witty 
things, to make puns and small jokes? Such 
a habit is liable to puff one up with vanity, 
and does not contribute to form a manly char- 
acter. I expect to see in you a development 
of every thing that is lovely and of good re- 
port. Dr. Franklin says, in his autobiography, 
that he had a disposition to wit, but he found 
it made his company desirable to the frivolous 
and the weak, not to the wise and virtuous. 
Therefore he resolved to restrain the habit." 

Still again to the same : — 



256 MEMORIALS OF 

" Our city has been excited of late by the 
arrest of a fugitive slave, and every means has 
been devised to embarrass and hinder the exe- 
cution of the fugitive slave law. To-day he 
has been remanded to slavery. I hope the 
time may come, before you die, when slavery 
shall be no more in this Republic. Have you 
found time to read the life of Fowell Buxton ? 
We have read it with great pleasure, also the 
life of William Wirt. You allude, in your 
letter, to my remark that ' a missionary who is 
worthy of his calling is the highest style of 
man.' I think you misapprehended my meaning. 
Certainly any calling that is lawful and honest 
is honorable, and, if pursued from the right 
motive, — to please and honor God, — is accept- 
able in his sight ; but you will admit that the 
errand which brought the Lord of glory to this 
world, on a mission of love, was the highest and 
most sublime of which it is possible to form a 
conception. The office of a faithful minister of 
the gospel of Christ is very elevated and sub- 
lime. And doubtless he may in many cases, 
be subjected to more trials than a foreign mis- 
sionary, and he may be a holier man. But the 
difference, and that which elevates the catting 
of a missionary is simply this : he goes to make 



CHARLES STODDARD. 257 

known Christ to those who never heard of him, 
who without him would not hear of the way 
of salvation ; whereas the minister preaches 
Christ to those to whom he has been known. 
Paul glories in preaching where Christ had not 
been known, 'that he might not build on 
another man's foundation.' This is the reason 
why I call- a missionary ' the highest style of 
man.' His work is almost a counterpart to 
that which brought the Saviour down : in fact, 
he was the great foreign missionary. I can 
conceive of no employment more elevated or 
sublime." 



X. 

A PICTURE OF SLAVERY. — THE 
FATHER'S COUNSEL. 

18524854. 

AS each year passed, new duties and respon- 
sibilities came with it, so that my father's 
life was full, — full of service, of watchful love, 
and reciprocated affection. 

He had come to the period he used to call 
the "battle-ground," and what we may surely 
say was the "heat and burden of the day." 
Yet nothing was, in consequence of these in- 
creasing demands, neglected ; nor do I connect 
the idea of hurry with my father. 

Each duty was performed in its own time ; 
there was no overtaking of engagements, which 
causes so much pressure and mental worry in 
the lives of many persons. He found time and 
a mind sufficiently at leisure to write many 
letters which required thought. 

This method in the midst of activity, was 
in a measure natural ; but habit had strength- 
ens 



CHARLES STODDARD. 259 

ened the trait, so that it was the more marked. 
It may furnish a hint for those who, over- 
whelmed with a multitude of cares, would fain 
spare themselves the annoyance of being driven 
in their work. 

An extract from a letter to a brother will 
help to give an idea of how constantly he was 
occupied : — 

" I think I shall not be able to visit N 



unless something requires me to come. The 
days are brief, and the pressure of duties upon 
me is great. The missionary funds are falling 
short alarmingly. I have had to aid the treas- 
urer to remit, and keep his credit good in 
London ; and friends in this country could not 
do better than remit their contributions at 
once. 

"I have arranged the supply of the pulpit 
during our pastor's absence. Business cares 
have been unusually great, on account of fail- 
ures of customers. - Much advice and assistance 
in effecting settlements are constantly required." 

But in the midst of this complex life, he 
found time playfully to interest himself in the 
health of the same brother. " As to yourself, 



260 MEMORIALS OF 

you must be patched up in some way or made 
over. My idea is, that there is a good deal of 
work in you yet. There is energy and execu- 
tive talent. My impression is, that you stay at 
home too much, yield too readily to headaches 
which knock at your door, so they are pretty 
sure to get in, and are therefore bolder than they 
would be if you gave them a heavy blow, and 
drove them pell-mell from your premises. Be 
more in the open air, have more cheerfulness. 
Do not care if you lose money; it is all the 
Lord's. You have less responsibility, if you 
have less committed to you, for he knows 
better than we what we need. 

"You have done well to obtain congrega- 
tional singing; keep up the tone, and it will be 
popular. People always feel interested in what 
they do themselves. I trust you will have 
large spiritual blessings this winter." 

To a sister-in-law, whose youth had been 
passed much under his roof, and for whom he 
always felt a strong affection, he wrote with 
considerable regularity. 

The following letters give the tone of the 
correspondence : — 



CHARLES STODDARD. 261 

"Dear F., — Some months ago you sug- 
gested my reading the memoirs, as far as they 
are published, of the late Dr. Chalmers. I have 
recently done so, and I assure you that it has 
been a rich treat to me. It does not appear 
that he was free from the imperfections incident 
to men. Indeed, he seemed fully conscious of 
his infirmities. He began the ministry of reli- 
gion without the power, and so continued for 
years. The grace of God overtook him, and, 
like any sinner, he fled to Jesus Christ. And 
now what a change ! he was sweetly con- 
strained by the love of Christ, in all he did. 
And what a life of engagedness was his ! It 
would seem that he raised the standard of 
preaching in Scotland, that he infused new 
life into the Sabbath and week-day schools, 
that he accomplished wonders with the poor of 
the section of the city where he labored, and 
that he left an influence for good upon Glas- 
gow which has continued to this day. How 
precious his memory ! I will send you a copy 
of the memoirs of Mary Lyon, in which you 
will, I am sure, find much of deep interest. I 
have been full of cares of late. How difficult 
is it to have a heavenly mind amid our earthly 
duties! yet I believe such a state is possible, 



262 MEMORIALS OF 

by keeping close to Christ. Indeed, I believe 
it is the intention of our Master, in placing his 
followers in scenes of trial and of full occupa- 
tion, that they may show forth his praise by 
manifesting a calm, confiding, heavenly spirit, 
even in the midst of pressing applications, and 
of much worldly employment. Doubtless you 
have found the benefit of ejaculatory prayer. 
I think the Apostle Paul must have practised 
it much. He certainly was not favored with 
regular places of retirement as we are. He was 
ever on the wing as a travelling missionary, ex- 
cept when 4 in bonds ; ' and then, for four or five 
years chained to a Roman soldier, he must have 
performed his devotions always in the presence 
of this soldier. Yet Paul held intimate com- 
munion with God, and grew in grace remarka- 

My." 

In describing to this sister the journey to the 
West, of which he speaks in letters to other 
friends, I find this impression given of slavery 
in 1853 : — 

" We were detained in the interior of Ken- 
tucky two days. There I saw slavery in its 
most odious aspects. The slaves were kept up 
till midnight every night, and compelled to be 



CHARLES STODDARD. 263 

up early in the morning ; ate their food out of 
doors although the weather was frosty, and 
were kicked and knocked about, so as to be 
almost stupefied if not brutalized. I walked 
out alone to a remote part of the grounds, 
and there, out of sight of the house, I met 
the gardener, a slave of seventy. I soon found 
he was a pious man, and had a hope of heaven. 
He detailed to me his piteous story. He was 
owned in Virginia, his wife was owned by 

B , at whose tavern we were. In order to 

live with her, he got B to buy him. But 

B was a coarse drinking man, and, when he 

had been drinking, he would beat him most 
unmercifully. He told me his back was raw 
for two years from the lashes inflicted. He 
said all the time he tried to do his duty as well 
as he knew how. The visitors remonstrated 

with B for treating a good servant in such 

a manner, but without effect. This slave was a 
member of a Baptist church, but there was 
none within twelve miles; his master never 
let him have a horse to go, and he and his wife 
had been ten or twelve years without ever 
attending worship. 

" The master is now dead, and the estate 
including the slaves is soon to be sold, and 



264 MEMORIALS OF 

their prospects are dark. I pitied them, and 
talked with him about the heavenly inheritance. 
He said this was all he cared for, or desired. 
We called this old disciple, 4 Uncle Tom.' 

" At the Mammoth Cave our guide was a 
slave of thirty-eight who was remarkably intel- 
ligent, understood all the minerals found in the 
cave and their scientific names, and the various 
formations, knew much poetry, had a fine 
voice, and was a good singer. His master pro- 
vided for his freedom in two years, and he then 
proposed to go to Liberia with his wife and two 
children. He would be intelligent enough for 
a high post, but unfortunately his employ- 
ment as guide has exposed him to be petted by 
thoughtless visitors, until habits of intemper- 
ance seem about to fasten upon him. In Lex- 
ington we saw slaves treated well, and appar- 
ently attached to their masters. But the 
system is bad, wholly bad for masters and 
slaves. The masters said that slaves were 
diminishing in Kentucky, and must diminish. 
They felt the evil, and said slavery would have 
been abolished had not the discussions in Con- 
gress, and the movements of the abolitionists at 
the North, excited their pride, and thus pre- 
vented it. We were obliged to hire a private 



CHARLES STODDARD. 265 

conveyance back to Louisville and passed the 
Sabbath at Salt River somewhat known in polit- 
ical circles. Here was a church, and preaching 
a part of the time, but none on this Sabbath. 
Learning that there was a Methodist camp- 
meeting in the afternoon, I attended. After 
prayer and singing the leader began at one end 
of the room, 'Well, brother, how is it with 
you?' To which the other replied, 4 He had 
experienced the hiding of the Lord's face for 
some time.' ' Pray on, wait on the Lord : we 
will pray for you, and the Lord may visit you 
in mercy.' Then to the next person, and so on 
to each member present; about twenty-four. 
Then he came to me, and said, c Well, stranger, 
how is it with you ? ' I told him that I had a 
hope of salvation through the merits of the 
adorable Redeemer ; that when in the morning I 
walked out to find a place of worship, I only 
found boys playing at marbles, and began to 
think of the case of Elijah when he said, ' They 
have digged down thine altars, and slain thy 
prophets.' I felt as if there were no praying 
souls there. But since I came to this meeting 
I saw my mistake, and want of faith, &c. On 
the whole, it was an interesting incident." 

23 



266 MEMORIALS OF 

" My dear Sister, — Your welcome letter 
of 5th February readied me some days since ; 
and I seize the first opportunity to acknowledge 
the pleasure it imparts, not to myself only, but 
to my pleasant and profitable companion in the 
journey of life. For nearly twenty-five years I 
have been blessed with a gentle, genial soul to 
walk with me, and every year she is more en- 
deared to me than before. I see her growing 
piety, and notice her elevated taste. I admire 
her genuine modesty, and on the whole, I am 
well satisfied on this head. Do you not think I 
have reason to be ? Our treasures here are all 
in earthen vessels, easily broken, and soon to 
pass away. This, if we are wise, we shall keep 
in mind, and possess these blessings as though 
we possessed them not. At present there is 
much attention to religion in this city. Besides 
the morning meeting, which for six years has 
been held daily in Old South Chapel, there is one 
every afternoon, conducted by Rev. Mr. Stone 
in Park Street, and one for ladies conducted 

by Mrs. F . Being more at leisure than at 

some other times, my wife has enjoyed attending 
these meetings, and been profited by them. 
We hear of sinners converted, and we know 
there is joy in heaven on such occasions. Should 



CHARLES STODDARD. 267 

there not be praise on earth? For myself, it 
has been a busy, and on the whole a winter of 
much spiritual enjoyment, and I hope, of some 
spiritual progress to me. You are aware that 
Prof. Park has preached for us once every 
Sabbath. This was at the request of Dr. B., 
to give him an opportunity to preach Sabbath 
evening in another part of the town. The 
sermons of Prof. Park have been of a high 
order as intellectual efforts, but have been 
chiefly valued as setting forth the great doc- 
trines of the gospel in a clear and forcible 
manner. His subjects have been mainly Christ 
as an atoning sacrifice, as an intercessor above. 
One sermon recently, from the text, ' The 
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us 
from all sin,' was very solemn and powerful. 
He preached a sermon on ' The Power of Con- 
science,' which took hold of many minds ; one 
on Peter; another on Judas, which made his 
character appear so black throughout, that I 
told my wife I did not want to be a Judas. 
His discourse, last Sabbath, was the last we 
expect him to deliver. It was from the text, 
; God is love.' It was over an hour in length, 
and of surpassing interest. He showed how 
this is consistent with his hating sin, and punish 



268 MEMORIALS OF 

ing the sinner eternally. This arrangement for 
having assistance, and opening a chapel, points 
to the inauguration of a plan of measures, for 
some time contemplated in our society; viz., 
the settlement of an associate pastor with Dr. 
B., with a view to two places of worship, 
and two sermons from each pastor on the Sab- 
bath, interchangeably in the two places. We 
now look forward to the settlement of an as- 
sociate pastor to-morrow, in our church. We 
have a large council to install him ; and Prof. 
Park preaches the sermon, while our pastor, 
Dr. B, gives him the 'right hand.' This 
arrangement is made with the cordial concur- 
rence of Dr. B., and of the officers of the 
church, and of the great body of believers 
among us, and points to aggressive movements 
among us to build up the cause of evangelical 
religion in this city. One main reason for our 
desire for two pastors and two places of wor- 
ship and other means of using money for doing 
good, arises from the fact, that after the present 
year, the income of our society will be over 
twenty-five thousand dollars per annum, all this 
large sum arising from rents of stores built on 
a piece of land adjoining the church. This 
belonged to Madam Norton, nearly two hun- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 269 

dred years ago, and she used it to 'posture, her 
cow. She gave it to the society, at her death, 
and it is the only property our church has, or 
ever had. It has, by time and changes, become 
the source of the above large income, and we 
desire to spend it all in preaching the gospel in 
the city. Is the plan wise in your eyes ? May 
we hope for happy results ? You will see how 
my energies, physical and mental, have been 
taxed during the winter. But I must not use 
my eyes more. They are far from well, and I 
am in the evening entirely dependent on Mrs. 
S. I thank you for all the suggestions in 
your letter. All nature is again robed in a 
fresh snow which silently enveloped the earth 
last night, and it looks pure and white, like 
those robes which the redeemed shall wear 
above. You are literary with your good eyes. 
I am rather losing ground in this. I manage to 
prepare myself to meet fifteen young gentle- 
men, members of my Bible-class, on the morn- 
ing of the Sabbath with a studied lesson, but 
am unable to use my eyes much more. 
" Your brother, 

" Charles Stoddakd.' 

23* 



270 MEMORIALS OF 

A letter to his brother follows, containing his 
private views on some affairs of public interest. 

" My dear Brother A., — You ask if I met 
and became acquainted with Col. Williams. 
On our return from England in 1847, he was 
a fellow-passenger, — a tall, intelligent, high- 
minded English officer who had seen much of 
the world, and, possessed of true politeness, 
made himself very agreeable. He was always 
up early, and from him I always received the 
first c good-morning.' In the progress of the 
voyage our conversations were many and varied, 
as he was quite communicative. He had been 
in all parts of India and in the East, -and was 
acquainted with most of the American mission- 
aries. He told me he never neglected an op- 
portunity, which his official station gave him, 
of showing kindness to missionaries. He told 
me that he was then under appointment as 
commissioner on the part of Great Britain for 
running a boundary-line between Turkey and 
Persia, and was soon to proceed thither to join 
the commissioners on the part of Persia, Tur- 
key, and Russia. I told him I had a brother, a 
missionary in Northern Persia, and he prom- 
ised, when in that region, to look him up, and 



CHARLES STODDARD. 271 

make his acquaintance. Accordingly, when, in 
the course of their duties, they were encamped 
within thirty miles of Oroomiah, Col. Williams 
wrote a letter to David, inviting him to visit 
him. David accepted the invitation, and vis- 
ited the colonel, and in return invited him to 
visit the station at Seir, which he did, with his 
retinue ; and the subsequent events are known 
to you. How wonderful are the ways of Prov- 
idence ! " . . . 

After a discussion at some length on the sub- 
ject of slavery, my father thus closes his letter : 

" But, my brother, the life here, whether of 
freedom or slavery, is but a short probation, and 
our chief concern should be to make prepara- 
tion ourselves, and labor to prepare others, for 
the life to come. Whatever may be the impor- 
tance of benevolent efforts for founding hospi- 
tals for the sick, schools for the ignorant, asy- 
lums for the aged and infirm, and kindred 
objects which look chiefly to the temporal good 
of men, and are really important and godlike 
charities, I have felt, and do feel, that direct 
efforts for the salvation of the soul are far more 
important, because they have influence on the 
life to come, and a preparation for it." 



272 MEMORIALS OF 

There is little need to introduce the sab- 
joined letters with any comment. Their imme- 
diate influence upon him to whom they were 
written cannot be over-estimated. Without 
an appearance of authority, my father was able 
to guide by a subtle power; his conscientious 
life increased the weight of his words, while 
Ids words, wisely chosen, incited to a noble 
life. 

" My dear Sok, — Your letter of Jan. 28 
really did me good. The style of penmanship 
t^as greatly improved, and the sentiments inter- 
esting. I know not how you could do better 
once a fortnight than to send off such an epis- 
tle. I will not promise to entertain you with 
my replies as much as you merit, but I will try 
to do something in this way. So you are to 
rise at four the rest of the season. The sun 
will rise earlier and earlier each successive clay, 
and it will not be many weeks before, at that 
early hour, there will be the commencement of 
daybreak. 

" I fully agree with you in the practical effect 
for good of the visits of a benevolent man to 
ten poor dwellings, and its happy reflex influ- 
ence upon himself, and I could most heartily 



CHARLES STODDARD. 273 

wish there were more of such character. Our 
great Master illustrated this in its full extent. 
He literally ' went about doing good ; ' and, al- 
though he had no silver nor gold to bestow, he 
had the godlike power of relieving human 
misery, and promoting human happiness in the 
highest degree. May we both be more and 
more like him ! 

" We all unite in love. May you keep near 
the throne, and live a life of faith ! Faith, sim- 
ple trust in God, and belief in his word as a 
living reality, is what we most need, my dear 
son." 

" My deae, Sok, — I forgot to speak with 
you, when here, about the importance of dis- 
countenancing every effort made in college to 
depreciate the faculty. I presume you would 
not lend yourself to the efforts of any, to 
ridicule any one of them, even though not 
exactly to your liking. While a person is an 
officer or teacher in college, the only rule for 
students, is to treat him with the consideration 
and courtesy belonging to his office ; and this 
even when there are grounds for thinking he is 
not fully qualified for his station. There are 
not a few of the young and inexperienced who 



274 MEMORIALS OF 

allow prejudice and unworthy hostility to lead 
them into courses of conduct highly reprehensi- 
ble. It is not manly, and generally those 
engaged as leaders, are persons who do not set 
a good example as diligent students. Always 
uphold the faculty, and never indulge in jokes 
at their expense : such things have a bad effect 
on character. 

" Your theory about daily exercise as neces- 
sary, if a young person would preserve c a sound 
mind and a sound body,' is good, and your own 
good health, under a systematic course of exer- 
cise, is a good illustration of its efficacy. But 
in the case of girls, it is not so easy to cany out 
in practice systematic plans of daily exercise. 
If it rains, they have no gymnasium to resort 
to but must stay in the house. Still much 
more might be done than is done, through the 
winter, by energetic* effort day by day. 

" I fully concur also in your remarks about 
the tendency of the times, especially among the 
young, to live too fast. I am glad your views 
are so rational, and I hope and trust they will 
continue so. 

" To give ample time, after leaving college, to 
become a thorough master of your profession, 
keeping up, at the same time, vigorous exercise, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 275 . 

and other appliances for producing vigorous 
health, to keep out of mind all thoughts respect- 
ing marriage-settlement in life, until established 
in any profession with reasonable prospect of 
the means of sustaining a family ; to maintain, 
in college and out, through all stages of edu- 
cation, a primary design and purpose to do all 
to the glory of God, and to plan with reference 
to the prospect of the greatest usefulness in the 
world, — these principles, adopted and carried 
into practice, would save many a college student 
from a heavy, anxious hour, and many a sad 
regret, when regret can do no good ; it would 
prevent making shipwrecks of happiness, and 
premature disappointment and death. There is 
time enough allotted us in our brief existence, 
to do whatever we are called on to do, deliber- 
ately and well. One duty should not crowd 
upon another. System and plan in every thing, 
adopted in early life, will very much aid in all 
its subsequent stages. 

" I have been looking over, of late, a volume 
of miscellaneous sketches of a pastor's vacation, 
by Rev. Dr. Todd, which, if within your reach, 
may give you some suggestions about 'travels 
in the wilderness ; ' but, if you have an inter- 
view with him, numerous practical questions 
will occur to you. 



276 MEMORIALS OF 

a How does your gymnasium progress ? How 
do you get on this term with your studies? 
The pride of parents will be gratified to know 
that you run ahead of your competitors, but 
this might make you vain, and lift you up with 
pride. If you acquit yourself like a man, and 
do the very best your intellectual capacities will 
admit, we shall be content." 

41 My dear Sok, — Your letter of July 30 
reached me on the 2d inst., and was satisfactory 
on the subject of which it treats. There is one 
question on which you desire me to express my 
opinion : the subject of your future profession ; 
4 whafr I wish you to be in life,' ' what I desire 
in regard to your future calling.' This is a 
matter of the first importance, and should be 
looked at with care at the outset. Otherwise 
one may hastily adopt a course of life, which, it 
turns out after a little while, he is not well 
adapted to succeed in, and which by and by 
he is compelled to abandon. Sometimes, indeed, 
a young man in college has his mind so strongly 
drawn in a particular direction, that he sees the 
way clearly marked out to his future profession, 
and he keeps that profession in view through 
his whole college-course, and never has a doubt 



CHARLES STODDARD. 217 

but that it is the occupation for which he was 
designed. This is often the case with students 
who come to college without piety, and while 
there, a flame of holy love to the Saviour is 
enkindled in their hearts ; and then they burn 
to make known Christ and his salvation as 
preachers of the gospel. They require no aid 
from their friends in making up their minds to 
become preachers ; they go straight into the 
ministry, and, like Paul after his conversion, 
resolve to know nothing among their fellow-men 
but Christ and him crucified. Others there are 
who become strongly enamoured with scientific 
pursuits. Perhaps the study of astronomy in 
college, or some one of the natural sciences, 
leads a young man to an enthusiastic attachment 
to science, so that he acquires a great fondness 
for it, and would gladly devote his future years 
to its pursuit. This was very much the case 
with your Uncle David, as you know. He 
loved the study of astronomy so well that he 
would gladly have spent whole nights w T ith 
Prof. Olmsted studying the heavens. He con- 
structed several telescopes, electrical machines, 
and thermometers; and if he had not drank 
deep at Siloam's fountain, and been constrained 
'to count all things but loss for Christ,' he 

24 



278 MEMORIALS OF 

would doubtless have attained eminence as a 
professor of natural science. 

" But I suppose the majority of students are 
not conscious of strong enthusiasm in any par- 
ticular direction. When they have finished 
their college-course, they teach till they have 
decided what profession to pursue, and then 
enter upon it. If they throw into it whatever 
talent and industry they possess, and continue 
on in an undeviating course, they usually suc- 
ceed. Some acquire more celebrity, or money, 
or usefulness than their fellows, but all succeed 
in a degree. It is the fickle, the unstable, and 
the indolent who usually fail. Distinctness of 
purpose, steadily pursued with great industry and 
perseverance, usually insures success. What is 
styled a liberal education, by which is meant 
a college-course, and afterwards the acquisition 
of a profession, is calculated to prepare a man 
for a station of more responsibility and useful- 
ness in the world than can be ordinarily attained 
either in agriculture, mechanics, or merchandise. 
The result of my observation has tended to the 
conclusion that a collegiate course is undesirable 
when the attention's afterwards to be devoted 
to merchandise. It could much more properly 
be devoted to an apprenticeship in a place of 



CHARLES STODDARD. 279 

business. It is rare for a graduate to succeed 
in mercantile pursuits. He lacks the knowledge 
of business which is requisite to success. 

" You have sometimes alluded to the mercan- 
tile business as offering scope for active habits. 
But generally merchants are not active in your 
sense of the term. Take Mr. S , for exam- 
ple : he seems to be much confined, and works 
hard with his pen in-doors, and frequently this 
confinement or some other cause subjects him 
to severe protracted headaches. 

" The students of college usually embrace 
one of the following professions ; viz., medicine, 
law, civil engineering, teaching (including pro- 
fessorships in colleges), and the ministry. 

" For the sake of definiteness, I will suppose 
your future path will lie in one of these pur- 
suits. Let us look at them separately. 

" The healing art has ever been honorable 
and useful. 

" A thoroughly educated physician, who unites 
bland and courteous manners to religious prin- 
ciple, will hardly fail to command consideration 
and respect, and to exert a most kindly and 
benevolent influence around him. He will be 
respected, and by numerous patients, whom he 
has relieved or cured, he will be warmly loved. 



280 MEMORIALS OF 

Your friend J is about as fine a specimen 

of a young Christian physician as I know, and 
I can hardly look at him without admiration, 
hope, and promise. Like you, he is an only son 
of kind and pious parents. I think he has 
never given them pain ; a lovely, virtuous son, 
possessing good talents, preparing himself to 
adorn an honorable and useful profession. May 
he live to attain great eminence and useful- 
ness ! " 

" Perhaps you have heard that A is turn- 
ing his thoughts towards medicine, and that he 
attended the course of medical lectures during 
the last winter. Whether you have any predi- 
lections for this profession, I know not. I have 
never heard you express any. It is very desira- 
ble that a young man should have some enthu- 
siasm in the profession he chooses. Many, 
however, who do not begin with enthusiasm, 
acquire it gradually, and succeed well. In 
reference to the question of your being a phy- 
sician, I will only say that if your mind and 
heart draw you that way, and you feel that you 
could master all the difficulties, and rise to the 
first rank as a physician, I should be happy to 
have you pursue this profession, and will furnish 
you with all the facilities in my power to pre- 

24* 



CHARLES STODDARD. 281 

pare for its duties. In the city, a physician 
progresses slowly, and is long in getting into 
practice. Unless he has friends who can aid 
him, he must be contented to work for years 
without much reward. Sometimes in a village, 
if a young physician settles at the right mo- 
ment where there is a vacancy, he may attain 
a full practice in a comparatively short space 
of time. But while the medical profession 
usually gives a skilful practitioner an honorable 
maintenance, the instances where a physician 
becomes rich by his profession are rare. 

" 2d, Law. My father was a lawyer, without 
enthusiasm in his profession, and so conscious 
that its temptations to wrong-doing were many, 
that he confined himself to its simpler duties, 
and rarely appeared at the bar as an advocate ; 
yet by frugality, industry, and probity, he has 
ever had an honorable standing, and was useful. 
Your grandfather Noble, too, was a lawyer, hon- 
orable and respected. But notwithstanding these 
examples, and many others, of excellent men in 
the legal profession, it is not to be disguised that 
there are more lawyers than there is a call for ; 
the profession is crowded. Then, though it is 
possible to be a lawyer, and yet be a consistent 
Christian, yet it is very difficult, and in a 

24* 



282 MEMORIALS OF 

majority of cases, when a Christian young man 
enters the profession of the law, he slackens his 
pace as a disciple, if indeed he do not, one day, 
go over to the enemy's side. In truth, my son, 
I should deprecate your entering this profession. 
It does not give the greatest scope to the exer- 
cise of the greatest usefulness to your fellow- 
men, nor the greatest glory to God. 

" 3d, Civil Engineering. This is comparatively 
a new profession. It requires, to take the first 
rank, accurate and thorough mathematics. It- 
furnishes scope for active labor, and it induces 
a roving unsettled life. It is a fitful occupation ; 
sometimes plenty to do with good wages ; then 
long intervals of idleness. One of your uncles 
has had experience in this department, without, 
as yet, much emolument beyond his necessary 
expenditures. The Atlantic States furnish 
comparatively little employment for members 
of this profession at present, while the West is 
demanding large numbers on its numerous new 
railroads. I do not think this profession holds 
out great inducements to such as you to engage 
in it. 

" 4th, Teaching, or a professorship in a college. 
A person can hardly prepare for a professorship 
with any distinct hope or expectation that he 



CHARLES STODDARD. 283 

will be called to fill it ; yet in this day there is 
an increasing demand for thorough scholarship ; 
and a known thorough scholar, either in classi- 
cal learning or mathematical, will not long be 
idle. Suppose the professor of Latin and Greek 
in Williams College was deficient in accurate 
classical knowledge; suppose, in addition, he 
was unpopular among the students, and had 
many deficiencies as an intelligent, energetic, 
and agreeable instructor. Suppose, further, 
you were a student in the college, and saw all 
those deficiencies in your classical teacher ; and 
in view of them came to the resolution that you 
would qualify yourself, by hard study and the 
utmost pains, to stand, when you were through, 
on a higher platform than he will ever occupy, 
avoiding those foibles and failings and peculiar- 
ities which render him unpopular, and being 
sure that you know more than any one whom 
you would ever be called upon to instruct. 
What is to hinder your being sought for and 
employed in some college as a professor ? I am 
of opinion, that if jow w^ere known as a first- 
rate linguist, and with that combined a good 
address, and aptness to teach, 'you could readily 
command an advantageous situation without 
delay. 



284 MEMORIALS OF 

" If, on the other hand, your attainments were 
only up to the average, and you were not dis- 
tinguished for thoroughness either in mathe- 
matics or classical knowledge, you could not 
expect to be chosen as a candidate for a vacant 
professorship. 

"Now, whichever may be your pursuit in 
after-life, it has seemed to me that there was no 
objection to the course above marked out. You 
are in a position, and have the opportunity, to 
make about what attainments you please ; and 
why not seize upon it with avidity? As to 
the question of devoting your life to a professor- 
ship, I think it an honorable and a useful call- 
ing, where one may do good, and glorify God. 
How should you like to look forward to the time 
when you might hope to occupy a chair in Wil- 
liams College, own the estate where your grand- 
mother lives, have a home there of your own, 
and a consciousness day by day of exerting a 
healthful influence upon a class of young men 
in the college, as their professor and teacher ? 
Yet such a thing is within the range of possi- 
bilities ; and you cannot tell how much of its 
accomplishment depends upon yourself. 

" I think the profession of a teacher, whether 
in college or out, an honorable and a useful 



CHARLES STODDARD. 285 

one. You have not tested your qualifications 
for teaching by experiment, except what you 
are now doing in a Sunday school ; but I see not 
why you may not possess the requisite qualifi- 
cations, and become a successful teacher. I 
should be willing you should assume this pro- 
fession as a business for life, if you found it 
congenial. 

" 5th, The Ministry, the most elevated call- 
ing in which a Christian can put forth his 
efforts ; and, where a person has the requisite 
qualifications of head and heart, it is the most 
desirable. Not because it yields him an income 
sooner than most others, not because it gives 
him position and influence, simply ; but because 
he can in the most direct way serve his Redeemer, 
and be instrumental in the salvation of men, as 
a minister of Christ. The demand for talented 
and well-educated ministers is very great. The 
profession is so far from being crowded, that I 
verily believe, if a hundred were now to appear 
on the stage, gifted and pious, every one would 
find situations, desirable and influential, in a 
very short time. But the ministry is an office 
for which peculiar qualifications are needed, — 
not mere learning and ability, and a logical 
mind, though these ,are essential ; but, in ad- 



286 MEMORIALS OF 

dition, deep piety, and personal devotion to the 
Lord Jesus Christ, are indispensable. A person, 
to be an effective preacher, must have a clear 
voice, the more sonorous the better ; he should 
have good health, a good address, a manly and 
open bearing, a warm heart, and perhaps an 
impassioned manner. No, of this last I have 
some doubt. He must be a devoted Christian, 
to satisfy himself in this office, or to succeed. 
He had better not enter it unless he is pretty 
sure he would hold on and hold out. I do not 
like to see persons turn aside from the ministry ; 
and, unless there are imperative reasons, it should 
never be done. There are trials peculiar to this 
calling, and sometimes they are great. There 
are joys and consolations, connected with a faith- 
ful discharge of its duties, which are rarely to 
be found in any other pursuit. Considering 
how brief our life is, and what a crown of glory 
is to be the portion of a faithful soldier of the 
cross, to what station could we aspire with such 
alacrity and zeal as to the ministry of recon- 
ciliation ? And yet many enter this office with 
small abilities, a slender stock of knowledge, and 
very few qualifications for their work. Many 
in the ministry are indolent, selfish, time-serving, 
no credit to the profession ; and they accom- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 287 

plish but little good. Rather than be one of 
these, I would never enter the office. But when 
there is a high and holy aim, a strong desire to 
preach Christ, and good talents, I do not know 
as a Christian has a right to decline serving his 
Master as his ambassador. 

" If you ask me the question, whether I desire 
that you should become a minister? I reply, 
that if the Lord was pleased to count you 
worthy, and to give you the requisite qualifi- 
cations of heart, of head, of voice, of manner, 
and made you willing to joyfully engage in this 
holy work, it would be to me a cause of grati- 
tude and praise. I should rejoice to have you 
an able and faithful minister of Christ, or a mis- 
sionary to the heathen, if the evident indications 
of Providence, including your fitness for the 
work, and desire to engage in it, called you to 
such a post. 

" But I will frankly say, my son, that I would 
not wish you to engage in a work like this, 
merely to please me, or because you thought it 
eligible in other respects, unless you have a con- 
viction that it is your duty, and a desire to take 
upon )^ou its duties. A degree of enthusiasm 
is desirable in entering this profession, as well 
as any other, to insure success. Some have 



288 MEMORIALS OF 

more of this in their natural temperament than 
others, 

" These, my son, are some of my thoughts on 
this important topic, given at my place of busi- 
ness, amid many interruptions. If they should 
aid you in settling the subject of your future 
course on a foundation that shall abide, and give 
you joy in the review, I shall be very happy." 



XL 



LETTERS TO DAVID T. STODDARD.— 
DR. J. P. THOMPSON'S TRIBUTE. 

THIS period of my father's life furnishes 
many letters to his brother David, the mis- 
sionary, and covers what proved to be the closing 
years of their correspondence. They shall be 
given without reference to other portions of my 
father's correspondence, though, in so doing, 
they will carry us beyond the dates of many of 
his other letters. He writes, December, 1851 : — 

" During all this month, when the days are so 
short and the wintry blast salutes us at every 
turn, you have been much in my thoughts, 
and I have been fully resolved to snatch some 
time from my usually numerous and pressing 
engagements, to write to you a few items of the 
goodness of our heavenly Father to me individ- 
ually, and to my family and friends, for the 
closing months of the year. We hear of a few 
revivals here and there about the country ; and 

25 389 



290 MEMORIALS OF 

there are many prayers offered for the general 
outpouring of the Spirit of God. But our coun* 
try is excited by political matters ; and at present 
the Hungarian exile, Kossuth, is here, endeavor- 
ing to stir up the people to commit themselves, 
or rather the nation, in favor of the independ- 
ence of Hungary, and of course antagonistic to 
Russia and Austria, which I hope they will be 
slow to do." 

A month later he writes : — 

" I hope you will hunger and thirst more for 
spiritual blessings, and that they will be granted 
to you. I have felt, myself, some growing de- 
sires after conformity to my risen Lord, of late. 
I think I desire to hold myself and all I possess 
in entire subserviency to his will. I rejoice in 
his government, desire to be in his hands, and 
to be employed by him as he may see good. 
His is a blessed service ; and it seems most desir- 
able to have my will swallowed up, as it were, 
in his, and to feel habitually allied to the inter- 
ests of his blessed kingdom. I send to you Dr. 
Judson's memoir. I admire his single devoted- 
ness to the missionary work, renouncing even 
the use of English, that he might give himself 
wholly to the Burmese. He made mistakes 



CHARLES STODDARD. 291 

which are not covered over ; while the evident 
honesty with which they are touched upon 
makes the work more interesting. I am sorry 
that the sermon you heard on American slavery 
should have been preached at a communion sea- 
son. A missionary appears to the best advan- 
tage when he gives himself wholly to his work ; 
but the moral effect is lessened when he comes 
down to the arena of this discourse. Give your 
strength to the missionary work, and not think 
that you have the responsibility of curing all 
the social evils which exist, however great they 
may be. We are all in a lapsed state, and in 
order to do any good, we must do it in the 
midst of much imperfection, and it is a wonder 
that our heavenly Father accepts such imperfect 
efforts as we put forth. 

" Missionaries should depend on the arm of the 
Lord. When will this be learned ? Daniel relied 
on the Lord alone, and he delivered him from 
all the machinations of wicked men. You speak 
of the c Stoddard pride and independence,' and 
how hard it is to be only a recipient. But why 
not regard yourself as the channel, the medium, 
by which blessings flow from your brothers and 
friends to the sons of Nestoria ? You have not 
a brother or sister who does not feel it a privi- 



292 MEMORIALS OF 

lege to send you love-tokens, nor one who cLoqs 
not feel it a privilege to remember you at the 
throne of grace. You are placed in a more 
honorable position than we are ; and, while we 
would not envy you your superior advantages 
for serving your Master, we claim the privilege 
of the sons of Levi, as related to the sons of 
Adam." 

An extract from another letter will give a 
brief description of an autumn excursion. 

." Boston, Nov. 8, 1853. 

" After the meeting of the Board of Missions 

at C , of which you will read a very good 

account in the November ' Journal of Mis- 
sions,' and fuller in c The Herald,' I took Mrs. 
S and M to Louisville, Ky., one hun- 
dred and thirty miles, in a steamer, and passed 
the Sabbath attending a slave-meeting of three 
hundred, with a slave preacher. The services 

were deeply affecting to us all, and to M in 

particular, to whom such a scene was entirely 
new. From Louisville in a stage, one hundred 
miles, we went on the Nashville Road to the 
Mammoth Cave. This cave we visited, descend- 
ing a steep hill about one hundred feet to its 
mouth. We entered an avenue seventy or 



CHARLES STODDARD. 293 

eighty feet broad, and from thirty to sixty feet 
high, for a mile or more. The walls and ceil- 
ing are composed of limestone, and it looked as 
if it had all been whitewashed. We then 
passed under domes and into the 6 Star Cham- 
ber,' where the lofty doma is blue, with dots of 
white all over it, making it strongly resemble a 
section of the heavens at night. Each of the 
party that accompanied us had a light, and we 
emerged after walking three miles in, and as far 
out, highly gratified. 

" The next day we made an early entrance ; 
about sixteen in the party, with two guides 
who carried our dinner. After walking through 
new scenery, over loose rocks and.narrow defiles, 
we came out on a lower avenue, and at the 
end of three miles reached c Echo River,' on 
which we passed in a boat three-fourths of a 
mile. The water is thirty or forty feet deep, 
and in some places ninety feet wide, and its 
surface three hundred and twenty-five feet 
below the surface of the ground. Having 
in our company fine singers, we sung c Before 
Jehovah's Awful Throne,' with fine effect, the 
sound reverberating through the recesses of the 
cave, and echoing back upon us. Our torches 
illuminated darkness the most profound, and 

25* 



294 MEMORIALS OF 

there was an awe and solemnity attending the 
consciousness of our situation, which excited 
serious reflection. Landed on the other side, 
we walked six miles farther to the end of the 
cave in that direction, through sparkling ' dia- 
mond chambers,' and beautiful formations of 
festoons in pure and snowy white. After eleven 
hours we emerged from the cave, the stars of 
evening shining overhead, having walked that 
day eighteen miles. None of the ladies expe- 
rienced any inconvenience from so long a tour. 
The air of the cave is remarkably pure and 
pleasant, always winter and summer at 60°. 
Returning, we passed two days at Lexington, 
the country around which is the garden of the 
State, and over the Alleghany Mountains to 
Wheeling and Baltimore. By a most wonder- 
ful railroad we ascend these mountains forty- 
eight hundred feet on a grade of one hundred 
and sixteen feet to a mile, at the rate of 
twenty miles an hour, without any stationary 
engine, over gulfs and ravines of frightful 
depths. We came to New York by w T ay of 
Baltimore and Philadelphia. 

" Your letter to Dr. Anderson, of ten sheets, 
he has promised me the reading of, as soon as he 
finishes it. I am fully satisfied with the perse- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 295 

vering efforts of the self-denying brethren at 
Gawar, and hope the Lord will graciously smile 
on their efforts, and that they may get a perma- 
nent foothold in the mountains. I should love 
to meet my dear brother and his wife and chil- 
dren in Persia, but desire to be chiefly anxious 
for a title to a happy meeting around our 
Father's throne above." 

In August, 1854, after expressing his sympa- 
thy, and later adding words of courage, he 
says : — 

" You write me about the sermon to which 
I before alluded, on slavery. A missionary has 
a perfect right to express his sentiments on all 
subjects. It is simply a question of expedi- 
ency, whether it is wise for him on heathen 
ground to expend time and strength with sins 
and evils in his own land. It does not seem to 
me the best way of exerting an influence. If he 
watches the walls of Zion where he is, and blows 
the trumpet there, it will never give an uncer- 
tain sound ; and in the long-run, a man speaks 
with more power and weight when he does not 
overstep what in the Christian community, 
would be esteemed his sphere of action. Bur 
of this each must judge for himself. ' All 



296 MEMORIALS OF 

things are lawful, but all things are not expedi- 
ent.' 

" My views on slavery are, I think, very 
much like yours. The enactments of Congress, 
in relation to the Missouri Compromise and 
the Fugitive Slave Law, are utterly repugnant 
to my views of right, and ought not to stand. 
Thus far I am glad to say, men who voted 
for this measure are not retained in Congress, 
and Kansas is being rapidly occupied by free- 
men that will do away forever with involuntary 
servitude. For us, let us consider the infinitely 
greater importance of a preparation for an 
eternal life for bond and free, and not spend our 
strength in beating those who stand in the rela- 
tion of master, as we cannot do away at once 
with the conditions of slavery." 

Just after an election, he writes, in 1856, on 
the same subject : — 

" We have recently passed through a highly 
excited political campaign; and the Northern 
States generally have spoken out in thunder 
tones for freedom. Just enough Northern 
States have failed to unite in their opposition to 
the slave-power, to secure the desired result, 
and Mr. Buchanan is returned, to the great 



CHARLES STODDARD. 297 

disappointment of most of the people of the 
free States. I hope his administration will be 
better than I fear it will for free institutions. 

" You speak of the pleasure you have in read- 
ing letters from brothers and friends. It gives 
me the purest pleasure to read your epistles, 
whether addressed to me or others. They are 
full of the living spirit of the gospel, and 
worth all they cost you. Let me encourage 
you, dear brother, to cheerful faith and hopeful 
patience. Strengthen yourself in the Lord." 

So closes the correspondence. 

A letter written to the widow of this mission- 
ary brother completes the history of my father's 
correspondence with David, so far as it can here 
be given, and shows his abiding interest in the 
mission work. 

It is dated immediately on the arrival of the 
news of his illness and death, which came by 
the same mail. The grief that it occasioned 
was deep. He not only felt the cutting-off of 
the stream of his affectionate sympathy, but the 
blighting of his cherished hopes. Yet he said in 
his heart and in his life, that God knew best. 
He neglected no duty to enjoy the luxury of sor- 
row, but went on his way looking, as ever for- 



298 MEMORIALS OF 

ward, but turning his eyes more upward to the 
home where he might hope to meet his brother 
again. 

April, 1857- 

"Mydeak Sister, — The steamer from 
England, which arrived in New York the 10th 
inst., brought me a letter superscribed by my 

brother A , and sealed in black. At once I 

anticipated heavy tidings, but not such tid- 
ings. My dear, precious brother David called 
home, actually an inhabitant of the heavenly 
world, a glorified spirit before the throne, a joyful 
companion of the spirits of just men made per- 
fect, and of the Redeemer whom he loved so 
well and served with such alacrity and success. 
How impossible to realize that more than two 
months of this happy eternity have been spent 
in the full enjoyment of God ! Blessed spirit ! 
thy warfare is accomplished, thy conflicts over, 
the burden of sin all taken away ; things seen 
as through a glass darkly, are now clearly and 
delightfully realized, and thou hast entered into 
rest. Happy brother ! Thou hast c endured to 
the end,' thou hast c kept the faith,' and, 4 by 
patient continuance in well-doing,' hast ap- 
proved thyself to the Master, and he has called 
thee up to higher services, and more noble em- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 299 

ployments. To our short-sighted view, a longer 
term of service in the missionary work would 
have seemed eminently desirable. With the 
peculiar qualifications of brother David for this 
work, and his high attainments in it, how much 
could he have accomplished in the field ! But 
the Lord of missions is infinitely wiser than we ; 
and he knows what is best for his cause and 
kingdom. I do not find it in my heart to criti- 
cise or question in the smallest degree, his 
dealings with my dear brother or with you. 
He does all things well, and blessed be his holy 
name ! 

" With you I would enumerate and count 
over the many mercies he has shown to our 
dear departed one in the past. I trust, dear 
sister, you are comforted of God under this 
treatment. His sustaining hand supports you ; 
his exceeding great and precious promises to 
the widow will be a continual solace. Christ, 
your Elder Brother, is left, and ever lives to aid 
and help, yea carry you safely or to the final 
rest. 

" You turn to us for sympathy, and I extend 
to you in my own name, and in behalf of my 
brothers and sisters, the grasp of brotherly 
and sisterly affection. The children will re- 



300 MEMORIALS OF 

alize their loss more and more, but if both 
are able to secure the friendship of Christ, 
by repentance and faith, he will be to them 
more than any earthly relative can be. Give 
our best love and warmest sympathy to them. 
But, after all the sympathy with friends, there 
will be times when your heart would sink, *were 
it not for the gracious assurances of His love, 
power, and faithfulness, who has said, ' Cast thy 
burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee.' 
4 Let the widows trust in me.' 

" I am, dear sister, most affectionately yours, 

" C. Stoddard." 

Dr. Thompson, a college classmate of my 
uncle, and a personal friend, to whom had been 
intrusted the labor of preparing the memoir to 
which he refers in the letter, has written the 
following tribute to my father. 

It deserves a chapter by itself, but is inserted 
here. 

The sketch which follows was written in 
Berlin, in March, 1874. The glowing words 
bring to my mind many a delightful hour when 
I too shared the pleasure of their sympathetic 
intercourse. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 301 

• 4 My deae, Mrs. Johnson, — You ask me 
for memories of your father, and my personal 
impressions of his life and character. If I 
could be sure that you would not print this 
letter, I would write you out of a full heart, all 
that he was to me as a friend, a counsellor, and 
an unconscious teacher, and all that he is to 
me as a memory, an example, an inspiration. 
But if there was one thing in which Mr. 
Charles Stoddard and I perfectly agreed, it 
was in the dislike of personal publicity; and 
though I should be willing to crucify my own 
modesty for the sake of honoring our friend- 
ship upon his side, yet I should feel that I was 
doing violence to the central beauty of his 
character by unveiling the confidences of his 
life for public praise. For you must remember 
that to me he still lives in that dear home on 
Beacon Street. I have none of the associa- 
tion of his going out of that door, never to 
come back again ; I am sitting with him, even 
now, in that favorite back-parlor, looking out 
over the Charles River to Cambridge; I feel 
that he would read or know whatever I might 
write ; and if I should say just how good and 
wise, how simple and pure, how true and noble, 

26 



302 MEMORIALS OF 

how broad and generous and kind he was, he 
would shake his head, and tell me to put that 
into the fire, and then would fall upon his 
knees, and pour out one of his humble, child- 
like confessions of sin and unworthiness, with 
a fervent prayer that ' we might not be puffed 
up with the vanities of the world, nor led into 
any snare of the Adversary.' So you see, my 
dear friend, I can not, dare not write all that I 
think of your father, for you to put into a 
book that might ever chance to lie upon his 
table. 

" Do you know, that when I made his 
acquaintance, I was at first the least bit afraid 
of him ? Of course, you never were ; but you 
had always known him as a father. Bat, when 
I first knew Mr. Stoddard, he was a deacon ! 
and in those days, a deacon still was had in 
reverence by young and inexperienced minis- 
ters. He was a deacon of the 4 Old South ! ' 
and in my novitiate, I had once gone trem- 
bling through that mysterious hatchway into 
the Old South pulpit, and had stood trembling 
under its huge sounding-board, and had 
preached, trembling, to its great cushioned 
pews and vacant walls, and the name had, for 
me, a savor of the reverence of antiquity and 



CHARLES STODDARD. 303 

respectability. And then he was a member of 
the 'Prudential Committee of the Board,' — a 
title that veiled as much of official dignity, and 
of sacred mystery and power, as the Jerusalem 
Chamber of the Westminster Divines. More- 
over, Mr. Stoddard was one of ' the solid men 
of Boston,' always an object of deference to a 
superficial New Yorker, and he had rendered 
some public service that entitled him to be 
called c Honorable,' and he was ' a gentleman 
of the old school,' with something of that pre- 
cise and formal politeness, which, in the good 
old times, always put young men upon their 
good behavior in the presence of their elders. 
So I assure you I was upon mine on my first 
interview with Deacon Stoddard. But when, 
presently, I saw a merry twinkle in his eye, as 
he uttered some phrase of quiet humor, and 
heard his broad and liberal views of men and 
things, and felt the warm pulsation of his heart, 
as he talked of the great interests to which his 
life was given, I was drawn to him by that 
4 pertect love which casteth out fear.' 

" The acquaintance thus timidly begun ri- 
pened to intimacy after the death of Mr. David 
T. Stoddard, when your father requested me to 
write a, memoir of that most lovely of men, 



304 MEMORIALS OF 

that most accomplished of missionaries. The 
magnanimity with which he committed valuable 
family papers to my honor, the courtesy with 
which he deferred to the suggestions of one 
much his junior, the cheerfulness with which 
he encouraged a labor so unaccustomed and 
so arduous, the refinement with which he 
smoothed away misapprehensions that arose in 
the prosecution of the work, the< resolution 
with which he stood by any question of princi- 
ple, the candid and cordial simplicity with 
which he approved the execution of the 
memoir, and the liberality with which he pro- 
vided for its circulation, — these qualities re- 
vealed, under that placid exterior, a character 
of great dignity, culture, breadth, and force. 

" At one period, the book was near coming to 
an untimely end. When it was fairly under 
way, members of the family who had a right 
to be heard put their veto upon any memoir, 
through deference to the supposed injunction 
of Mr. David Stoddard himself. How wisely, 
delicately, and effectively your father met this 
difficulty, will appear from the following letter, 
which, at the same time, gives a beautiful 
revelation of his own character. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 305 

" 'Boston, Sept. 2. 1857. 

"'My dear Sib, — I knew David so well, 
that I feel sure, if we could now have an 
interview with him, and lay before him the 
probable influence for good of such a memoir 
as you are preparing, he would at once waive 
all private scruples, and say, " Use my letters 
in any way to promote the glory of my Sav- 
iour." 

" c As a family we shrink from publicity and 
notoriety. This trait is strongly developed in 
my father. It has been a very strong feeling 
with me ; insomuch, that I have often said, 
I have never occupied any post or office to 
which I have not been dragged, as it were, by 
the hair of my head. 

" ' In brother David, to this native constitu- 
tional tendency, was added genuine Christian 
humility and lowliness of mind ; and this, com- 
bined with refined taste, led him to dislike 
strongly the general style of memoirs. I 

doubt not he had in mind, when he gave 

the injunction in reference to the use of his 
papers. In point of fact, there is little or no 
use of his papers. As yet none have been re- 
ceived, and as he left no diary, journal, or pri- 
vate memoranda, we are very much dependent 

26* 



306 MEMORIALS OF 

on his letters which have passed from him, and 
are the property of others. 

" ' On the whole, I see no reason to alter the 
views with which we started. The papers are 
committed entirely to you, to be used at your 
discretion in preparing the work. I have per- 
fect confidence in the wisdom of this course. 
You see, I put into your hands freely such 
thoughts, suggestions, and criticisms as come 
to my hands, thinking this the best course. 
Suggestions and criticisms from others may be 
available, or not : let them go for what they are 
worth. I see you feel your inadequacy for the 
work, and almost wish you had not undertaken 
it. I wish to encourage you in it. I think 
you will succeed well. Who knows but you 
may, by bringing out ythis work, glorify the 
Master more than you would be able to do in 
any other way ? Do not feel yourself obliged 
to produce it by any given time, but as you 
are able, progress. I shall be glad to meet you 
at Providence, and to read what you have 
written. 

" ' With high Christian regard, 

44 ' I am, dear sir, very truly yours, 

"'C. Stoddaed.' 



CHARLES STODDARD. 307 

"With the same thoughtful and generous 
spirit, he refused to allow the writer of the 
memoir to be in any way restrained by the opin- 
ions or wishes of others, as to the construction 
of the work, or the use to be made of the 
manuscripts. 

" Before going to press, every line of the me- 
moir was submitted to his candid and discrimi- 
nating criticism, and with a most gratifying 
result. The other day, while making a speech 
here, I saw in the audience a German friend, 
who knows hardly a word of English, joining 
vehemently in the applause. I asked him 
afterwards, ' Have you understood much ? ' — 
4 Very few words, but with my feelings I have 
understood a great deal.' Mr. Stoddard's 
words of commendation were always few: he 
had a horror of flattery as a special snare of 
the Devil ; but then he had a way of making 
you understand through the feelings, when he 
was pleased and satisfied ; and after I had laid 
down his brother's life, I somehow seemed to 
have taken up his own. He insisted upon my • 
making his house my home in Boston, and 
seemed really grieved if at any time I went to 
a hotel. ' Never send word when you are 
coming, but come directly, and you shall 



308 MEMORIALS OF 

always find your room ready, and a good warm 
meal/ 

" Your father was the perfection of a host. 
He knew how to put his guests at their ease, 
and to make them comfortable, without troub- 
ling them with inquiries as to whether they 
really were comfortable. He was punctual and 
orderly without being fussy, regular without be- 
ing exacting, always cheerful yet never ostenta- 
tiously seeking to entertain you, nor requiring 
you to entertain him. His table-talk was lively, 
diversified, and appropriate, suited to the tastes 
of his guests, and seasoned with shrewd epigrams ; 
and in those quiet evenings in the back-parlor, 
with the latest ' North American,' or ' Bibliotheca 
Sacra,' or the newest volume of history or science 
on the table, what a luxury it was to converse 
with him by the hour, and draw out his clear 
and sensible, wise and liberal views upon the 
higher themes of thought ! Never a partisan nor 
a controversialist, and always charitable in his 
judgments of men, Mr. Stoddard was neverthe- 
less positive in his own convictions of the truth, 
and earnest in the utterance of that truth which 
4 makes men free.' He had a large fund of expe- 
rience, and many a pithy anecdote or wise prov- 
erb with which to illustrate his reasonings. It 



CHARLES STODDARD. 309 

was this talking faculty that made him so attract- 
ive as a teacher of young men ; but he always 
qualified himself for his Bible-class by a dili- 
gent study of the Scriptures. It was his habit 
of imbuing his mind with the inner meaning 
of the word of God that made his conduct of 
the family devotions a$ edifying to ministers 
and professors, as to the children and domestics 
of the household. I have heard him read a 
chapter of the Romans, with a terse, clear, run- 
ning comment, and then epitomize it in the 
language of prayer, so that you felt it had 
entered into your very bones. 

" Young men might well learn from him the 
strength of a quiet, cheerful, consistent life, 
serenely ordered by the spirit of Christ ; in one 
word that the essence of power lies in char- 
acter. 

" While Mr. Stoddard performed with consci- 
entious diligence his duties to the world, there 
was nothing he enjoyed so much as getting 
away from men, from the bustle and care of 
life, for quiet communing with friends, with 
nature, and with God. Do you remember, my 
dear Mrs. Johnson, that charming summer day 
when your father invited me to Swampscott to 
greet you on your return from Europe ? — the 



310 CHARLES STODDARD. 

long, lovely, inland ride, so peaceful, so restful ; 
the quiet talk, the dreamy calm, the soulful 
memories of art, of nature, of music, of beauty, 
and the kindling prophecies of heavenly love ? 
At last we came' out upon the beach, and 
watched the fair white wings floating far 
away. I am with you- again to-day, standing 
upon that sunlit shore, and our eyes rain silent 
tears ; but through our tears we watch one 
sail that grows dimmer and dimmer on our 
horizon, till in a flash of light caught from the 
other shore it disappears, and we know that it 
has entered the haven of rest. 

" Yours in the memory and the hope of the 
blessed, 

" Jos. P. Thompson " 



XII. 
BUSINESS TRAITS AND HABITS. 

TRIBUTE OF PRES. HOPKINS. 

"TTT~E hear it said every day, "No one can 
* * attain success in mercantile life, and still 
keep his conscience pure." This statement is 
brought forward as unanswerable by young 
men who, in their haste to be rich, desire to 
find an excuse for " irregularities " which they 
cannot otherwise justify. By such an acknowl- 
edgment they show that their " mind's eye " 
is growing dim, foreshadowing for them a fatal 
blindness that will in due time prevent their 
distinguishing the right from the wrong path. 
" If, therefore, the light that is in thee be dark- 
ness, how great is that darkness ! " But is the 
statement true ? Are there not merchants who 
reach a high eminence in their business, who 
yet have " clean hands," and a heart " pure " 
from covetous desires? Thank God, there 
have been and there are such men ! The ques- 
tion arises, How have they been able to keep 

311 



312 MEMORIALS OF 

themselves thus ? Some think it is more diffi- 
cult to live up to a lofty standard to-day than 
thirty years ago. Then public honesty was 
greater, the luxuries of living not so possible, 
and the moral tone more decided. But after 
all, it is the governing purpose that a man sets 
before him in life, that decides for him, in the 
hour of temptation, whether he shall overcome, 
or feebly yield. That self-discipline which is 
essential to success in any department of life, 
is peculiarly needed in a business career. My 
father early subjected himself to this, as he 
says : — 

" At the age of thirteen," he writes, " I bade 
adieu to plays and pastimes, and entered seri- 
ously into the business of life, and very little 
recreation did I have afterwards except my an- 
nual visit to my parents* Yet I had recreation 
enough. For eight long years I served an ap- 
prenticeship, rising at five, and working till 
eight and often till twelve at night. And 
most of that time I was doing that which I 
could not see was likely to make me a better 
merchant. It seemed like time wasted. I 
tugged on however, and at the age of twenty- 
one, after eight years, I was tolerably qualified 



CHARLES STODDARD. 313 

to enter business." His duties were sometimes 
of the most humble character, not often requir- 
ing mental effort. He, however, looked upon 
them as duties not to be neglected, but con- 
scientiously fulfilled ; as a discipline by which 
his character was to be formed, and he was to 
win the confidence of his employers. He 
seemed, even at his outset in life, to have that 
sure evidence of wisdom, the ability to connect 
the present with the future, and wait for it 
with patient labor, and firm hope, while he 
performed his daily tasks. 

The bishop of Exeter has said lately in a 
public address : — 

" Of all work that produces results, nine- 
tenths must be drudgery. There is no work, 
from the highest to the lowest, which can be 
done well by any man who is unwilling to 
make that sacrifice. Part of the nobility of 
the devotion of the true workman to his work 
consists in the fact that a man is not daunted 
by finding that drudgery must be done ; and 
no man can really succeed, in any walk of life, 
without a good deal of what, in ordinary Eng- 
lish, is called pluck. This is the condition of 
all work whatever, and it is the condition of all 

27* 



314 MEMOPdALS OF 

success; and there is nothing which so truly 
repays itself as this very perseverance against 
weariness." 

The purpose to do right was a marked ele- 
ment in my father's character, and he saw no 
reason for altering the laws of honesty in busi- 
ness affairs. Religion was not a thing by_ itself, 
but its influence entered into and leavened all 
that he did. He never hesitated in his path : 
there was but one that was right, and that he 
pursued. 

In another letter I find the following experi- 
ence : — 

" I have repeatedly in my life had money 
come unexpectedly into my hands, from sources 
unlooked for; and in several instances these 
occurrences have been at a time when I was 
suddenly called to pay money myself, or when 
I was making an effort to carry out some plan. 
Placed in exactly these circumstances, one day 
a stranger called upon me, and said he was 
directed to pay my firm about nine hundred 
dollars ; and he wished a receipt written as fol- 
lows : " Received of A B nine hundred dollars, 

it being a sum justly due me from , but for 

which I have no legal claim." The person pay- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 315 

ing the money would not tell me who sent it, 
nor could I ascertain or even conjecture, though 
I diligently looked over my books to see if I 
could get a clew to it." 

In 1823 he entered into partnership with his 

relative and friend Mr. E , who had received 

a similar mercantile education. Their views 
on moral questions coming up in connection 
with their business were the same, and their 
habits of benevolence coincided. This partner- 
ship was continued twenty-two years with great 
harmony. They had confidence in each other, 
and sympathy ; and when they separated, the 
friendship continued unbroken to the close of 
my father's life. When in business for himself, 
he showed in his transactions courage combined 
with rare judgment. The business which he 
conducted as a young merchant required a 
boldness which would not be needed to-day. 
A partner was stationed abroad, and orders 
were transmitted through him. Steamers did 
not come twice and three times in a week to 
bring merchandise, nor could electric messages 
alter, in a few moments, the order of a day 
before. 

His faith, arising from his cheerful temper- 



316 MEMORIALS OF 

ament and simple trust in God, proved 
another element of his success, giving him 
calmness in trying times, and courage for all 
exigencies. With this faith he associated 
prayer. These are his words : — 

" I have made it a practice to take God at 
his word as revealed to us, and rest upon it 
with entire confidence, and have found it a 
strength to me in my business as in my reli- 
gious life." 

Like Daniel, he set apart a time for prayer 
before he began the duties of the day. Like 
him, in answer to his prayers he was clothed 
with a wisdom not his own, and a patience 
which was God's own gift. This fitted him to 
meet the difficulties and trials of his daily life. 
Prayer was the key-note from which the mel- 
ody of his life ever sweetly flowed. Was it 
strange that he achieved success? Was it 
strange that he was enabled to resist tempta- 
tion? Rather, might we not find more such 
men in our counting-rooms and our marts of 
commerce, if, like him, merchants were in 
secret, men of prayer ? 

A friend in writing to me, recalling certain 
pleasant visits at his house, says : — 



CHARLES STODDARD. 317 

" I was always much impressed by his habit 
of devoting the early morning hour to the 
study of the Bible and devotional exercises. 
When he appeared from his retirement, he 
seemed to bring with him the spiritual atmos- 
phere from which he had come. I remember 
one morning he said, as he sat down at the 
breakfast-table, ' I have been studying this pas- 
sage : " And they that be wise shall shine as 
the brightness of the firmament ; and they that 
turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever 
and ever." His mind seemed to dwell on it, 
and he repeated it two or three times during 
breakfast. I can never recall the passage with- 
out associating it with him. He was one that 
seemed to combine, more fully than any one I 
ever knew, a thorough enjoyment of earthly 
things with close communion with God." 

This self-possession and spirit of prayer, 
gave to his actions a steadiness, and impressed 
others with a confidence in his judgment, that 
they could scarcely account for, save as they 
acknowledged his source of inward strength. 

During the year 1837, the whole country 
was shaken by commercial disturbances. Many 
important business houses failed ; mercantile 



318 MEMORIALS OF 

credit was not given to firms even with large 
capital, for they, with others, were tottering. 
At this crisis a partner of Mr. Stoddard, at that 
time residing in Paris, desired to give assurance 
to his banker there, that money he had bor- 
rowed would be refunded. 

He had, however, only the name of his firm to 
give. In this difficulty, relying wholly on the 
character of the partners in Boston, and the 
principles upon which their business was con- 
ducted, he went to the banker. He felt sure 
that the promise and name of my father would 
carry with it more weight than the promises 
and names of many others of larger wealth. 
He was not mistaken, as the result proved. 
For, upon requesting the banker to make known 
at the Bank of France that the credit of the 
house was good, he quickly replied, " Certainly, 
sir: I made that statement there yesterday." 

After that, there was no difficulty in transact- 
ing his financial business. 

Within a few days, several kegs of coin 
arrived in Paris, purchased in America at a 
sacrifice, and forwarded to sustain the credit of 
the Paris house. 

This outlay might be considered by some as 
a needless waste, and they might think there 



CHARLES STODDARD. 319 

was no call for sucli a sacrifice ; but it was the 
manner in which my father thought it right to 
do business. When he read his Bible, he 
sought to find out its lessons for his daily mer- 
cantile life, as well as to receive directions for 
his church and Sabbath-school duties. 

Following such a course, his reputation with 
bankers abroad and business men at home stood 
high. During this year he did not fail, al- 
though he " liquidated the affairs of two busi- 
ness houses in which he had more or less 
interest," besides taking care of his own firm. 
He had, however, an anxious year " sympa- 
thizing with some of his near friends who had 
suffered severe losses." 

He made it a practice to put aside all 
thoughts of his business when he came to his 
home. I do not remember "that he talked of 
business at all, while he discouraged conversa- 
tion upon its troubles when introduced by 
others. I cannot but believe that the light 
estimate he put on any earthly possession, in 
comparison with the heavenly inheritance, gave 
temporal losses their relative place. 

Another feature of his business character 
must not be omitted. He inspired respect and 
affection in every young man that came into 



320 MEMORIALS OF 

his employment. The young men who came 
with rough habits and rude manners, were sub- 
dued by his dignified but gentle influence, and 
his refined tenderness, and acquired polite and 
courteous habits under this influence. He 
never chided, but was himself what he would 
have them to be. 

This result was not accomplished so much by 
positive effort as by a subtle influence felt from 
his steadfast Christian life. I have heard my 
father when encouraging one to a life of self- 
denying, faithful love, declare earnestly "that 
the rewards of such a course were not reserved 
for another world." He met in his own experi- 
ence multitudes of instances to prove the con- 
trary. 

Entering a bank one morning, in the engross- 
ment of the moment he failed to notice a 
young man by his side, who said, " Mr. Stod- 
dard, you probably do not remember me ; but 
you taught me in the Sabbath school, gave me 
my first business ideas, and to you I owe all 
that I am, as a merchant or a Christian." 

He received often in business hours, letters 
full of gratitude, from persons formerly associ- 
ated with him, and whom he would not be 
likely again to see. One recalled the Christian 



CHARLES STODDARD. 321 

counsel that had guided him in his life's path, 
while another spoke of the words of cheer 
that had been like a " cup of cold water " in 
his desert journey, — all unexpected tributes to 
his love, and greatly valued. 

It was at his place of business that many 
calls of charity came, interrupting his engage- 
ments, and taxing his patience. Yet he always 
received such visitors politely, without making 
them conscious of the inconvenience their 
visits occasioned him. 

He listened to a plea for some new form of 
benevolence with ready attention, almost always 
giving in money. He was willing to hear a 
long tale of destitution, and was quick in 
responsive sympathy for the sufferer. If his 
judgment did not -sanction his giving money, 
he would spend what was often far more valua- 
ble, his time and thought, for the permanent 
benefit of the applicant. ' 

He did not fret at such interruptions, but, I 
have been told, would resume his writing with 
a smile, and the utterance of some little pleas- 
antry. 

Prof. Park of Andover has given me a fact 
from a letter received in 1853, in which he 
says : — 



322 MEMORIALS OF 

" I was then a professor in Amherst College. 
A young man, to whom your father was giving 
pecuniary aid, was found guilty of theft. I 
informed your father of the fact. He wrote 
me the following letter, of which I retain no 
copy, but which I remember very well : ' I had 
hoped that the young man would help the 
needy by means of his mental labors ; but I 
think that he must exchange mental for physi- 
cal toil, and thus obey the injunction, " Let 
him that stole steal no more ; but rather let 
him labor, working with his hands the thing 
which is good, that he may have to give to him 
that needeth." ' " 

The following incident has been furnished 
me by another friend. It occurred during a 
brief call of the gentleman with his sons at my 
father's place of business : — 

" An occurrence came under my observation 
that happily illustrates the way in which Mr. 
Stoddard would seize an occasion to make a 
desired impression on the youthful mind. Call- 
ing at his place of business with two little boys 
on their first visit to the city, he observed one 
of them eying closely some very small, well- 
filled bags. They contained coin for the pay- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 323 

ment of duties. He gratified the lads by open- 
ing a bag and filling their hands with the gold, 
saying, ' This is but shining dust, which we axe 
obliged to use in business ; but it is useless to 
say to gold, " Thou art my confidence." Do 
you recollect what is said to be " more to be 
desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold," 
and where this is said ? ' " 

I haye said that my father was consulted for 
advice by men from various motives, and with 
different views of life. 

When they asked, " Mr. Stoddard, do you 
think that, if I place my money in these bonds, 
it will realize for me something handsome?" 
his reply might be, after a little thought, 
" Such investment seems wise." But if they 
persisted, " Then you think it will be safe ? I 
am afraid it may not be quite secure ; " my 
father would say, "Perhaps you might prefer 
such a railway." — "But is that safe?" the 
inquirer would demand. Again my father 
would patiently suggest something, and again 
be met with the response, " But can I be sure 
that the investment is entirely safe ? " 

Weary with this grasping after the utmost 
return possible from the money, combined with 



324 MEMORIALS OF 

the extreme caution that could not hazard the 
losing of one cent, he would smilingly say, 
" My dear friend, if you want to make an in- 
vestment that is entirely safe, that you need 
never have an anxious thought about, and 
one that will yield rich returns, give it to the 
American Board of Missions, and let it aid in 
spreading the gospel through the world." No 
one could be hurt by the pleasantry, though 
some might not think his idea best for this 
world. 

Intimately connected with his business, be- 
cause regulating his expenditures, was his 
benevolence. My father had, among those as- 
sociated with him, a reputation for great system 
in his business habits. He was prudent and 
careful from his earliest years, and from 1813 
kept an exact account of every cent, and in 
letters advised his brothers to require of them- 
selves the exact balancing of their income and 
expenditures. He gives as a reason, that " it 
will tend to check selfishness and personal grat- 
ification in the use of money." 

He kept a record of his gifts of benevolence, 
to keep his own standard in this respect high, 
and these records show that he gave away 
systematically more than he spent on himself 



CHARLES STODDARD. 325 

and family. After 1853, in accordance with a 
resolution he had made, he devoted all that he 
received, beyond a frugal expenditure on his 
family, to gifts of charity, literally to deeds of x 
love. The objects were various, and embraced 
private reliefs and public far-reaching benefac- 
tions. 

The amount given by him for a period of 
forty years was very large, and proportioned 
each year to the measure in which he was pros- 
pered. But the time and thought and labor he 
gave to the cause of Christ was worth far more 
than the money. He never erected a monument 
to himself with one donation; but widows, 
orphans, the cause of home missions, educa- 
tion, ministers, and the whole world through 
the A. B. C. F. M., reaped the benefit of this 
stream of his benefactions. He held trust 
accounts for widows and orphans, which he 
handled with such sagacity, that while by 
investing he often multiplied their resources, 
he never lost a dollar. He also defended them 
against those who sought to wrong and defraud 
them. In this way he managed hundreds of 
thousands of dollars, and for these services de- 
clined to receive any compensation. He was one 
of the prudential committee of the A. B. C. F. M., 

28 



326 MEMORIALS OF 

and he had for many years the responsibility 
of safely placing in London the money re- 
quired for the various stations supported by 
the board in foreign countries. The aggregate 
amount was very large, yet he was so sagacious 
in doing this, that not one dollar was lost to 
the board. This service, it is unnecessary to 
add, was done without any remuneration, except 
the joy he felt in being thus permitted to render 
it aid, in addition to that of his personal dona- 
tions in money, and his ardent devotion to its 
interests. 

His partners loved him as a valued friend, 
and their expressions of deep affection seem too 
superlative to be repeated. It would make far 
too long a story to give private testimonials to 
his labors of love ; and it would be distasteful 
to his humble spirit to have his virtues thus set 
forth. One who knew him well describes the 
atmosphere of his counting-room, in his earlier 
business life, in the following words : — 

" I called at No. 74 State Street, where he was 
at his usual avocations in that secluded corner, 
and had with him, as always, a delightful con- 
versation. With him no pressure of business 
seems to expel his social feelings, or deaden the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 327 

ardor of his piety. Oh that there were more men 
who, while in the world, would live above it ! " 

It was at his place of business that he re- 
ceived the letter which conveyed the intelli- 
gence of the death of his brother David. No 
tidings of his illness had preceded the news, 
and the event was most unexpected. A part- 
ner in referring to the incident has told me, 
that, though no one knew the cause, his face 
betrayed his deep grief as he read the letter. 

He quietly finished reading it, and without 
remark retired to an upper room to be alone. 
All that others knew of this struggle was the 
fact of his absence ; for when he returned his 
face was calm and even radiant/ "Thy will, 
not mine, be done," he had been strengthened 
to say. He could then quietly speak of his 
loss, but so that he showed he was " com- 
forted " with such "comfort" as only God 
could bestow. 

Writing to one of his brothers in the last 
year of his life, he referred to the following 
resolution : — 

" Twenty years ago, I think, I proposed with 
myself not to increase the principal of my 



328 MEMORIALS OF 

estate, though scanty and small according to 
worldly estimates, but to give away all, after 
supporting my family and dependents. This 
resolution had a happy influence on myself. I 
found no desire to speculate, or make money by 
bold strokes. I own not a dollar in any rail- 
way or corporation ; and at my age I do not 
feel like running into enterprises which promise 
well, but involve partnership with men I never 
knew. But why this strain? The objects of 
faith loom up in my horizon, and they are such 
as fill and satisfy my soul." 

In making up a general estimate of the busi- 
ness character of my father, it is well to re- 
member, that no dazzling qualities claim our 
admiration, no brilliant business ventures com- 
mand our attention. In such persons we are 
often obliged to make large deductions for some 
great defect, such as might almost outweigh 
peculiar merits ; but in the case of my father, 
we find a happy grouping of traits fitted to 
inspire confidence and achieve usefulness, while 
interwoven with all, and governing all, was his 
supreme devotion to the service of God. 

Dr. Hopkins, of Williams College, whose 
long friendship for my father qualifies him to 
speak, has sent me the following letter, in 
which he ably and clearly draws his character. 



CHARLES STODDARD, 329 

" Williams College, July 10, 1874. 

" My dear Mrs. Johnson, — I do not find 
that I have letters from your father that would 
be available for the purpose of a biography. 
The subjects of our correspondence did not 
call for such letters. Not having them, perhaps 
I may venture to indicate my impression of 
some of those characteristics which made him 
so greatly useful and beloved. Those charac- 
teristics belonged to him as a Christian, as a 
business man, and as Mr. Charles Stoddard. 

" And first of all he was a Christian. He 
fully subordinated his business in its material 
and methods to the demands of Christianity. 
This, business men professing Christianity sel- 
dom do. Business they regard as having its 
own sphere and methods and standards, and to 
that are given whatever time and effort may be 
needed for the highest success. Spiritual re- 
sults either in themselves or in others, are not 
made a direct object. Not so with your father. 
He sought first the kingdom of God. No line 
or method or standard of business not compati- 
ble with that, had any attraction for him. He 
was 4 diligent in business,' but not to the neg- 
lect of spiritual results. Whatever time and 
energy were necessary for them, whether from 

28* 



330 MEMORIALS OF 

labors in the Sabbath school, in the cause of 
missions, or in the care of trust funds, were 
cheerfully, systematically, and persistently 
given. Of what he did in each of the spheres 
just mentioned, I cannot give the details, but 
it was remarkable, and worthy of special 
record. 

" And, as he thus made Christianity paramount 
in the acquisition of property, so did he in its 
distribution. He early reached the point, as so 
many in the great money centres do, where he 
had only to keep the ball rolling to insure its 
accumulation in an increasing ratio. But when 
the question was between thus rolling up a 
large estate and a response to immediate and 
urgent calls, whether for physical want, or for 
the evangelization of the world, he chose the 
latter. This was no slight test of Christian 
faith and fidelity, for the vision of a fortune to 
a merchant is like that of the presidency to a 
politician. It has a fascination that few can 
resist. But he resisted it, and doing so, his 
gains did not flow into a stagnant pool, with a 
tendency to generate moral miasm, but became 
a stream of living water constantly flowing and 
refreshing the parched places. 

" But while your father was first a Christian, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 331 

he was also a business man. As such he was 
remarkable for his way of combining enterprise 
with caution. Perhaps I should put caution 
first; but if so the combination in that form 
had its root in a high quality of honesty. Like 
truthfulness, honesty is of different degrees. 
Some think themselves truthful if they do not 
say what they know to be false ; others only 
when they say what they know to be true. So 
some think themselves honest when they do 
not mean to cheat, or to lose property intrusted 
to them ; others, only when they use a caution 
that insures the power of meeting every liabil- 
ity. Considering the commercial fluctuations 
and crises daring his long commercial life, it is 
remarkable that Mr. Stoddard not only never 
failed, but was never in danger of failing. En- 
terprise is well, but the enterprise that puts at 
hazard the property of others is not compatible 
with the highest form of honesty. In this 
respect the example of your father is especially 
worthy of being commended to business men 
and those entering upon business at the present 
time. 

" The characteristics just mentioned of your 
father as a Christian and as a business man 
were too prominent not to be readily men- 



332 MEMORIALS OF 

tioned, but who shall catch that subtle individ- 
uality which so endeared him to his family and 
friends, and made him to be Mr. Charles Stod- 
dard ? Life and those expressions of it by 
which our friends become to us what they are 
refuse to be put upon paper. This was particu- 
larly so with your father from the combination 
in him of seeming opposites. Among these it 
may be sufficient to mention mildness with 
firmness, and humor with sobriety. Firmness 
and sobriety were the basis of his character, 
and gave it strength and consistency. When 
principle was concerned, no man was. more un- 
yielding. In view of the evils of the present 
life and of its great issues, he was " sober- 
minded." And yet these sterner qualities only 
made his mildness and playfulness and a pecu- 
liar humor the more noticeable. These so per- 
vaded all in him that might have been sternness 
as to banish any sense of constraint, and even 
to make him a favorite with the young. Than 
this combination, nothing could better fit any 
one to be the centre of the domestic circle. 

" I will only say further that your father was a 
representative man. He represents the genuine 
Puritan merchant and gentleman. His parents, 
and his ancestors for several generations, were 



CHARLES STODDARD. 333 

Puritans, and he seemed to inherit from them 
that integrity of character, and in every thing 
pertaining to personal expenditure and to forms 
of religious worship, that simplicity of taste, 
not excluding elegance, by which they were 
distinguished. I know of no safer or worthier 
example for business young men. 
" Very cordially yours, 

"Mark Hopkins." 



XIII. 

LETTERS OP ADVICE AND FRIEND- 
SHIP. 

18504852. 

IN the years as they came and went, my 
father's song of praise was, " Goodness and 
mercy have followed me all the days of my 
life," while he anticipated with increasing joy 
that he should " dwell in the house of the Lord 
forever." His children, grandchildren, brothers, 
sisters, nephews and nieces shared in the love 
and letters he so freely bestowed. A college 
friend of my brother having planned at the 
completion of his course an extended journey, 
with the view of making his future theological 
studies more interesting and of preparing him 
more fully for his ministerial work, and having 
invited my brother C. to join the party, C. com- 
municated the matter to my father, and received 
the following letter in reply, weighing the sub- 
ject most fully, but leaving the decision with 
the son : — 

334 



CHARLES STODDARD, 335 

44 My dear Son, — Before considering his 
proposals, is it not well to pause, and inquire 
whether your mind is made up on this momen- 
tous question ? Have you come to the point of 
laying yourself upon the altar of consecration, 
and in full view of your relations to God and 
man, freely and voluntarily and with all your 
heart, chosen the sacred profession as your 
calling for life? — not chosen it because others 
have urged it, or because you thought it would 
gratify your parents, but from gratitude and 
love to the Saviour to whom you are under so 
great obligations. My son, since the moment 
of your birth, I may say, certainly since the 
hour when you were dedicated to God in the 
holy ordinance of baptism, it has been my 
prayer and my sincere desire that God would 
take you for his own and adopt you for his 
child ; and further that it would please him to 
qualify you, by his Spirit and grace, to become 
an able and faithful minister of the gospel. 
This has been and is my unceasing desire 
and prayer in your behalf, and I have felt, and 
do feel, freely willing that you should be called 
wherever he, in his holy providence, may see 
fit to employ you in the work of his ministry. 
In speaking of the general subject of the min- 



386 MEMORIALS OF 

istry, you have heard me express the sentiment 
that it is the highest calling in which a human 
being can engage, and other similar sentiments. 
But I have not been in the habit of urging you 
personally to become a minister. I have re- 
frained from doing so, from a strong unwilling- 
ness to influence you, in so important a choice, 
by a desire to please me, or to act in accordance 
with my wishes. 

" Now I will say, my son, that if the Spirit 
of God on whom I trust you daily wait for 
wisdom to guide you, has inclined your heart 
to this work, so that you enter, or propose to 
enter it, with a cheerful alacrity, and an unal- 
terable purpose to devote your life to it, ' my 
heart shall rejoice, even mine,' and I shall bid 
you God speed, and do all in my power to aid 
you in becoming qualified for this high and holy 
calling. Personal holiness is the first and most 
indispensable qualification, and to make ad- 
vances in this, will be your daily prayer and 
your daily effort. With reference to the minis- 
try, and to qualify you for it, all your plans 
will be formed, of study and of recreation and 
of travel. Now are you prepared to announce 
your decision upon this question? What is 
the present direction of your mind? Is it 



CHARLES STODDARD. 337 

doubt and hesitation ? Is there a drawing-back, 
an unwillingness to make the entire consecra- 
tion which just such a choice implies? 

" I will say here, once for all, that much as 
I should be gratified if the Lord should please 
to call you to the work of the ministry and 
employ you in it, still I do not want my feel- 
ings and wishes to influence you in this matter. 
Decide for yourself, looking in earnest prayer 
for the guidance of the Holy Ghost. 

" If so far as you have light, you cannot see 
your way clear to become a minister, but would 
rather turn to the mercantile or other secular 
occupation, as I have said already, I shall acqui- 
esce and do all I can to place you advanta- 
geously where you may acquire a knowledge 
of the business you desire to pursue. 

" On the supposition that your decision is 
clearly and joyfully made to devote yourself, 
God willing, to the work of the sacred minis- 
try, then what is to be said of the matter pro- 
posed to you by Mr. P. ? I am not much ac- 
quainted with Mr. P., except from his letters. 
From the tenor of those I have seen, I infer 
him to be a man of religious principle, and of 
firmness of purpose. Having chosen the min- 
istry as his profession, no persuasions of friends 

29 



338 MEMORIALS OF 

who do not sympathize with him in this choice 
can divert him from it. Nor can the allure- 
ment of foreign travel, nor the love of ease, 
which the possession of wealth is so apt to 
beget, turn him aside from the chosen work. 
If he goes to Palestine, he goes as a candidate 
for holy orders. He looks at and investigates 
every thing connected with the Scriptural geog- 
raphy and scenery, with a view to its subser- 
viency to his chosen work. And he cannot 
fail to profit by his travels. But would it be 
profitable to you ? You are two years younger 
as a student as he graduated two years before 
you. I presume too, he is your senior in years. 
However that may be, is he not more mature 
than you? Has he not much more knowledge ? 
I suppose he knows French well, and probably 
Spanish, and perhaps Italian, while your acqui- 
sitions in either are probably small. If two 
more years could go over your head, diligently 
improved by study and observation, you would 
be much better prepared to profit by such a 
journey than now. If you should once be in 
other lands, you would feel your deficiencies 
very much, and opportunities would be let slip, 
for want of knowledge, which otherwise you 
might turn to good account. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 389 

" In view of all that I have written in this 
sheet, would it be wise for you to join Mr. P., 
even if you had my consent ? This is a ques- 
tion which may well admit of a doubt. One 
thing I am surprised at, coming from him, and 
it indicates to me that he has had but little 
experience in travelling with many companions. 
It is the idea which he throws out, of making 
up a company of eight or ten, with whom to 
make the long journey to Egypt and Palestine. 
Does he believe they would keep together half 
the way ? I do not. Every experienced trav- 
eller takes good care how he links himself with 
others for a long journey. 'Tis well to have 
pleasant company on the way, but not to be 
hound to them. Two or three are enough, for 
the more you have, the greater variety of 
tastes. One will wish to stop longer in a place 
than another. Frequently accommodations that 
would suffice for two or three cannot be had 
for eight or ten. But in such a company, you 
will be likely to have some who would wish to 
travel on the Sabbath. What is to be done? 
The party cannot be separated, the majority 
must rule, and the majority decide that there 
is no more sin in travelling over the desert than 
in lying by on God's holy day. And so you 



340 MEMORIALS OF 

go, — wound your conscience, and sin against 
God. I would rather you would never see the 
East, than spend any part of one Sabbath trav- 
elling. There is no need of it : it can be 
avoided ; but boupd to a company, unless they 
make this agreement cheerfully beforehand, 
they would not submit to it at all, or submit 
with an ill grace. Every thing a man does as 
a traveller is known not only to his Maker, 
but at home ; and a single indiscretion in a 
professor of religion is apt to be magnified in 
the report. In the mean time, if you choose 
you can draw your friend out on some of 
the points I have suggested, — large parties 
for travelling, &c, and perhaps light may break 
in upon the subject. The day of prayer for 
colleges was very stormy ; nevertheless we had 
good meetings in our chapel, and in the even- 
ing a public meeting in Old South Church. I 
trust much fervent effectual prayer was offered, 
and that we shall hear of great and glorious 
revivals in Williams College, and other institu- 
tions of our land." 

A niece of my father has recently handed 
me the following letter, which I will give as 
it stands. It was written to her when she had 



CHARLES STODDARD. 341 

scarcely reached the age of two months, and 
combines sobriety and humor in the manner so 
original with my father. This niece says she 
has re-read it regularly since she was old enough 
to comprehend it, and never failed to be wak- 
ened to a new desire to use well her talents : — 

" To F. My Dear Young Friend, — I am 
informed that you have but recently come upon 
the stage of action, and cannot be supposed to 
have much knowledge or experience as yet. 
Perhaps you have not yet learned that this is 
a fallen world, that a large part of itb inhabit- 
ants have turned away from God, and desire 
not the knowledge of his ways. 

" As you grow in years, you will be strongly 
tempted to join yourself to this throng of 
opposers of their Creator. Your friends cannot 
bear the thoughts of your doing so. 

" They wish you to give yourself early to the 
service of your Redeemer, that you may spend 
your days usefully and happily. Many of the 
friends of the Redeemer are engaged in the 
blessed work of attempting to bring back his 
enemies that they too may become his friends. 
They have associated themselves in a society, to 
send the gospel to the heathen world. They 

29* 



342 MEMORIALS OF 

iirvite you to become a member of this society. 
But as you live some distance off, and we 
cannot consult you, I have taken the liberty 
to enroll your name as a member, and here- 
with I send you a certificate of membership. 
I hope you will approve of it. I have reason 
to know it is not displeasing to your parents. 
When you think this matter over I hope you 
will not feel that as you already are a member, 
you have nothing further to do. I desire that 
you may be inclined to give your money and 
your prayers to promote this good cause. Per- 
haps you will be inclined to give yourself as a 
missionary, to go and proclaim the gospel to the 
benighted heathen. s If God should incline 
your heart to do so, I do not think your parents 
would have a heart to say no. 
" I remain your affectionate friend, 

"Charles Stoddard." 



"February, 1854. 

" My dear Son, — You have often heard 
me allude to the importance of preserving the 
mind pure, by abstinence from all reading of 
impure character ; and have heard me say that 
when not over fifteen I adopted a resolution, to 
which I have since adhered, ' Not to read any 



CHARLES STODDARD. 343 

thing which I should be unwilling to read aloud 
to any one.' I know not that I have ever heard 
you express your views on this subject, but I 
have no reason to think you would differ from 
me in sentiment. The mind is corrupted and 
moral principle undermined, by allowing the 
imagination to dwell on images that are impure. 
No degree of knowledge can atone for the 
pestilent influence of words, of imagination, 
or of fact indeed, when the details are low 
and corrupting. I have ever been sensitive 
upon this subject. ' From purity of thought, 
all pleasure springs.' And were I you, I 
would never tolerate in my presence a com- 
panion who threw out gross allusions in con- 
versation, nor would I tolerate a book which 
did so. My mind has been drawn to this sub- 
ject by some remarks on a book I have just 
seen, which is being circulated with great 
industry, on the money-making principle, but 
whose influence is most pernicious. I know 
not that you have ever met with the work, 
but if you have, and your moral sense is at all 
like mine, you will have thrown it from you 
with disgust. 

" If our minds are satisfied with such reading, 
can we love a pure and holy God? To my 



344 MEMORIALS OF 

mind, there is a total inconsistency between 
maintaining the habitual temper and spirit of 
a Christian, and the reading of works of fic- 
tion where decency and purity are frequently 
violated. I desire that in your future course 
your Christian principles will so preponderate, 
that you will set your face like a flint against 
every thing calculated to lower the standard 
of truth and duty which the Bible sets up. 
The press teems with works of vile and wicked 
tendency, put forth either to make money, or 
to corrupt the rising generation, and alas ! too 
many eagerly swallow the prepared dose, -and, 
while it is working their moral death, advocate 
and defend it ; such is inexperienced youth. 

" I have sometimes longed to have boys, in 
their early youth, see things in their true light, 
that they might avoid tampering with tempta- 
tion, corrupting their minds and thus laying up 
in store, food for future sorrow and remorse. 
There is an elevated happiness to the pure. 
'Tis the happiness of angels and holy things. 
It cannot be participated in by the impure and 
unholy. There is nothing of remorse or con- 
sciousness of guilt in such a being. We are 
defiled and impure. Our refuge is the cross ; 
our hope is penitence and humbly looking to 



CHARLES STODDARD. 345 

Christ to pardon what is polluted and to make 
us holy. And blessed thought ! if we commit 
ourselves to him in humble faith, he will do it, 
so that we shall finally be ' presented in his 
presence faultless, without spot or wrinkle or 
any such thing." 

It has been suggested by some of Mr. S's 
acquaintances and friends, that he had charac- 
teristics not unlike those of his relative Benja- 
min Franklin; that the wisdom of the two 
men, though developing in different channels, 
had the same natural source. The following 
letter gives some ground for such an idea : — 

"My dear Son, — The glorious Author of 
your being has spared your life, and permitted 
you to complete your twenty-first year, and 
you enter upon the cares and duties of man- 
hood in the possession of a sound constitution 
and good health. For this unspeakable blessing 
you will return your grateful praises to God. 

" I hope you enter upon your majority with 
no bad habits. For myself, I have ever felt it 
a cause of thanksgiving that I have been pre- 
served from forming habits in my youth of 
smoking, chewing, taking wine, lying in bed in 
the morning, excessive indulgence of animal 



346 MEMORIALS OF 

appetite, or any habit of body which would 
make me a slave. Those who have unguard- 
edly formed any of these habits in youth, 
learn in their subsequent bitter experience, 
how hard it is to quit them. To preserve a 
sound mind in a sound body, the laws which our 
Creator has laid down in our physical and moral 
constitution must be complied with. I think 
you have learned something of what these laws 
of health are, and that you feel the importance, 
of being guided by them. Regularity of habits 
in respect to exercise, food, and rest, is the 
general basis ;- the animal always to be kept in 
subordination to the spiritual and intellectual, 
the order. The law proclaimed to our first 
parent, ' By the sweat of thy. brow thou shalt 
eat bread,' has proved a blessing in its opera- 
tion upon successive generations of the human 
family. Neglect of exercise, such exercise as 
will daily produce the sweat of the brow, 
induces indigestion, dyspepsia, and the train 
of diseases which follow. I have repeatedly 
heard you express the opinion that much daily 
active exercise was unquestionably for your 
health, and I trust that hereafter, whatever your 
pursuits, you will not fail to devote a sufficient 
portion of each day to physical labor of some 
kind. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 347 

" No doubt it has occurred to you, that hav- 
ing arrived at man's estate, your future course 
should be marked out with care and delibera- 
tion, aided by such counsel as you can attain 
from your parents, and, more than all, seeking 
wisdom from above to guide you in the choice 
of a profession, that you may have nothing to 
regret in time to come. I hope you will calcu- 
late, in whatever pursuit you engage, to work 
hard. Life is the time for toil, and those are 
by far the happiest whose life is full of active 
labor. If you can make your labor and toil 
directly subservient to "the advancement of the 
Redeemer's kingdom, I feel sure you will lay 
up for yourself the most desirable riches. You 
have several times, of late, expressed to me 
the growing conviction of your judgment, that 
it was best to devote yourself to the ministry 
of the gospel. If this continues to be your 
conviction of duty, and if you can enter upon 
a preparation for its duties with a determina- 
tion to devote your life to the service of the 
Saviour, as his ambassador, I shall more than 
acquiesce ; I shall rejoice in this purpose, and 
cheerfully furnish you with the necessary sup- 
port while you are pursuing your theological 
course. But it is not my wish that you should 



348 MEMORIALS OF 

prepare for the ministry, unless, with what 
light upon the subject you can obtain from 
friends and from waiting upon the Lord for 
guidance, you are satisfied that, all things con- 
sidered, it is the course of duty for you. You 
cannot fail to be happy if you follow the path 
where duty leads. Let me here say that until, 
you have obtained your profession, and fixed in 
general upon your future course of life, it is 
wise to keep entirely free from all matrimonial, 
engagements expressed or implied. You will 
find this caution timely and important ; for you 
will be strongly tempted to feel that you will 
lose a lovely prize if you do not secure her at 
once. Another temptation will probably occur 
not once or twice, but many times. Dr. 
Dwight, late president of Yale College, used to 
say to the young men whom he found in dan- 
ger of being caught in those silken toils, 
fc Young men, you may be sure there will be 
plenty of young ladies left whenever you need 
to make choice of a companion.' A premature 
engagement embarrasses a young man, divides 
his thoughts and attention, so that he will not 
make half the attainments he would otherwise 
make. The results has often been an imper- 
fect course of study, which ever after has hin- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 849 

dered his usefulness, and been an occasion of 
regret. 

fci It was the old rule, when an apprentice had 
been faithful during the years of his appren- 
ticeship, and had received only his board and 
lodging from his master, that, on his becoming 
of age, he should receive a suit of clothes, and 
a hundred dollars in money. With this capital 
the young man usually furnished himself with 
tools to ' set up ' in his trade. I wish, in ac- 
cordance with this time-hallowed custom, to see 
that you have as much. For a long time I 
have had a sum deposited in the savings bank 
to your credit, the interest of w^hich has accu- 
mulated, so that the amount is much increased. 
It is a very good place to have it remain; and, 
were I to advise you, I should say, Let that be 
the last money you touch. Leave it for a rainy 
day. While you have hands and health, you 
can earn your daily bread. The time may 
come when you will need this. However, I 
hand the book to you, and remain, with my 
warmest wishes for your happiness, 

" Your affectionate father, 

" Charles Stoddakd." 



XIV. 

LETTERS, TEMPERANCE COUNSELS 
TO YOUTH, &c. 

1852485^. 

DURING the years over which these letters 
take us, his responsibilities as an office- 
bearer in the church were faithfully met by my 
father. The meetings of the church were never 
put one side. No engagement, no unusual 
fatigue, kept him from his place there at the 
appointed hour. Nor was he willing to be a re- 
ceiver only: he prepared "beaten oil," which 
he said, was only fitting to be presented in the 
Lord's house. His supplications at home for 
God's blessing on the prayers offered and words 
spoken, and his habit of dwelling on some 
particular passage of the word of God, made 
his remarks at religious meetings profitable. 

Not seldom would he infuse his cheerful tone 
of piety into a meeting, which, proving conta- 
gious, the doubts of others would -disappear, 
and the whole atmosphere become hopeful, 

350 



CHARLES STODDARD. 351 

The ease with which he conversed or spoke 
on religious themes was very marked, and his 
words were the spontaneous expression of his 
inward feeling, and for this very reason the 
more effective. 

While he was so much at home in the use 
of Scripture, so childlike in prayer, he did not 
even suggest a lack of reverence. It was the 
assured confidence, the loving friendship of a 
disciple, not any undue familiarity. 

The subjoined letter relates to a young man 
whom his friends desired to send to America, 
hoping the habits of intemperance he had 
formed might, by change of scene and country, 
be broken. I give the letter as it stands. 

1854. 

" My dear Brother, — I have read with 
deep interest what you say of the young man 
of good education, who has fallen into habits 
of intemperance ; for whose good some plan or 
location in this country is desired. As soon as 
I received your letters I made inquiries about 
finding him a situation on a farm in Maine, 
and I think there is a prospect that a place can 
be found, with a pious man in a secluded place 
away from temptation, where the young man 
might retrieve his character, and form virtuous 



352 MEMORIALS OF 

habits of total abstinence from all intoxicating 
drinks. I cannot now write more particularly, 
but as soon as I hear definitely, I will inform 
you further. In the mean time, and in ordei 
that the person might make up his mind 
whether he would take him, more particulars 
are needed. As to his age ? Can he bear such 
work as is done upon a farm ? Would he come 
cheerfully, and go to work? Would he conform 
to the habits of a well-ordered Christian fam- 
ily? Would his friends be willing to pay some- 
thing, say one hundred dollars a year or more 
if it should be found necessary, to induce a 
suitable farmer to take him into his employ- 
ment, and into his family ? Was the young 
- man of Christian parentage, and in early child- 
hood and youth was he faithfully instructed in 
the principles of religion? When I have 
learned definitely that a place can be had for 
him, I will write yon. He might, in such a 
case, come out in one of Train's sailing vessels 
to this port, and it could be so arranged that he 
could get no spirits on board, and be imme- 
diately taken to Maine. 

" But much would depend on his own dispo- 
sition; whether he is resolutely bent on refor- 
mation, and will make the needed self-denying 



CHARLES STODDARD. 353 

exertions himself. Poor youth ! He has my 
hearty sympathy. To fall in a country where 
intoxicating drinks are daily offered on almost 
every table, and where the public sentiment 
among the wealthy and more refined is, that it is 
mean not to offer a person dining with you rum, 
whiskey, brandy, gin, or wine, — how can the 
young man avoid it ? Total abstinence is the 
simple remedy. Banishment from our houses 
of every thing of the kind is the plain and 
effectual remedy. When will Scotland rise in 
her might, and strangle this demon in the 
cradle ? She could do it ; it is right. If she 
does not, thousands of her children will go 
down to a drunkard's grave, and to a wretched 
eternity. Neither wine nor brandy is needful 
or desirable for persons in health. Water is 
the best drink. God has provided it, and the 
proofs are overwhelming that with this bever- 
age a man will do more work and do it better, 
will feel better, sleep better, eat better, have a 
clearer head and heart, and live longer, than one 
who uses, even moderately, these drinks. Even 
if they had some good in them (which for me 
they have not), where the danger is so great of 
acquiring the habit of intemperance, we should 
abstain from their use as carefully as we should 
avoid warming a viper in our bosom. 



354 • MEMORIALS OF 

"P.S. — I do not think nearly so well of a 
voyage in a temperance whaling-ship as of a 
regular life on shore." 

In 1852, his mother, to whose counsels and 
faithful love he expressed himself so greatly 
indebted, was taken away in a ripe old age. 
Over eighty years she had lived in health, and 
no wearisome illness, which she had sometimes 
dreaded, no pain, preceded her final departure, 
— a close that she herself would have chosen to 
her well-spent life. He thus writes to a brother 
concerning the event : — 

" My dear Brother A., — On Sabbath 
morning, April 25, our dear mother rose, and 
commenced dressing, when she was seized with 
paralysis, and fell. Father was out of the room, 
and, returning in a few moments, found her 
unconscious and on the floor. She was raised 
and put into bed, and applications commenced 
with a view to restore sensation, and she soon 
revived and spoke. It was then evident that 
her left side was paralyzed and benumbed. 
Her voice appeared as usual, and her mind was 

clear. She conversed some with F , who 

came immediately down as soon as she learned 
that she was ill, and did not leave her while 



CHARLES STODDARD. 355 

life remained. Mother was aware what had 
happened, and said it was what she had been 
expecting, and that her hour had come. By 
the close of the Sabbath, she seemed to be sink- 
ing into a lethargic state from which it was 
very difficult to rouse her, even for a moment. 
Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to respire 
heavily. On Monday, this state of things con- 
tinued and increased. On Sabbath night a 

change seemed to come over her, and F , 

who was watching with her, found it impossible 
to rouse her. Indeed, she showed no sign of 
consciousness after this, but lay motionless, 
breathing heavily and with increased difficulty, 
except that she answered 6 Yes ' to questions 
put to her very loud and with much energy by 

Dr. B on Monday. From Monday night 

she lay without movement or consciousness till 
about eleven o'clock on Tuesday night, when 
she gradually ceased to breathe. It was a sol- 
emn scene. Friends were kind and attentive, 
and father appeared calm and composed, though 
he feels the stroke which has deprived him of 
the companion of his bosom, who for fifty years 
has been at his side. 

" Mother has led a Christian life in an emi- 
nent degree, unwearied in her attention to the 



356 MEMORIALS OF 

sick and afflicted, visiting them frequently, 
carrying to the poor articles of food and cloth- 
ing ; this she continued to do up to the time of 
her departure. Can we doubt that she has 
gone to be with the Saviour she loved, and in 
whom she trusted? Is she not now pouring 
forth notes of praise in the upper temple to Him 
who washed her from her sins in his own blood ? 
How precious is her memory to us her children ! 
Let us follow Christ as fully and closely as she 
did. When arrayed for the tomb, the counte- 
nance of our dear mother bore one of her 
sweetest expressions, on which we delighted 
to look." 

After minutely detailing all the services at 
her funeral, he says : — 

" In the quiet burying-ground shall the 
peaceful sleeper rest with none to disturb her 
slumbers, till the heavens be no more. From 
there, at the bidding of the Lord, shall she 
come forth immortal and glorious in the like- 
ness of her Saviour. The soul re-united to her 
glorified body, she shall be perfectly blessed in 
the full enjoyment of God to all eternity. 

" Wherefore comfort one another with these 
words." 



CHARLES STODDARD. 357 

To the same brother soon after : — 

" My dear Brother A., — The details 
you give of the accident to the ; Orion ' steamer 
two years since, and the views you express, are 
so much in accordance with my own sentiments 
that I transcribed and published them. The 
accidents to passengers in rail-cars, as well as 
steamboats, are so constant, that the public 
mind seems to be hardened. A few weeks ago, 
I was waiting on the dock at Catskill, for the 

steamer ' Reindeer.' C and M were 

with me, and we were expecting to go up to 
Albany in her. Her usual time had passed, and 
she did not appear, and we became somewhat 
impatient. It was soon announced by telegraph 
that she had blown up at the next landing be- 
low, while discharging and receiving passengers. 
The custom is, not to lose steam by letting it 
off when the boat stops, as should always be 
done. She might have blown up at Catskill, as 
well as at Maiden. About fifty were scalded, 
thirty-five of whom are dead. Returning from 
the West, on the Erie Railroad, the train in 
which we were ran over and killed a man, 
and this I understood was no unusual occur- 
rence. Why our heavenly Father preserves 



358 MEMORIALS OF 

us, while others are removed suddenly by 
these casualties into eternity, we cannot tell, 
but certainly we should bring forth the fruits 
of holy living, and show our gratitude for 
preserving goodness by lives of devotedness to 
him. 

" I perceive you and F have been as much 

interested in c Uncle Tom's Cabin ' as our- 
selves. If its pictures of slavery are as true as 
they are graphic, certainly the system is evil and 
only evil. I notice an able review in the '■ Times ' 
newspaper, showing much knowledge of mat- 
ters in this country, which is, on the ' whole, 
unfavorable to the book. But it certainly is 
adapted to the popular mind, and will be uni- 
versally read, and exert much influence." 

To his daughter : — 

"My dear M., — If you spend a season 
away from home, we desire it may be recrea- 
tive, and at the same time profitable. 

" You should not feel that, in order to enjoy 
yourself, yon need to get up some new plan or 
expedition. A walk by yourself, or with an 
intelligent companion, among the beauties of 
Nature, so profusely scattered at your feet 
at this pleasant season of the year, may afford 



CHARLES STODDARD. 359 

a more agreeable pastime, and be much more 
instructive and profitable, than a more expen- 
sive pleasure. There is not a flower that 
opens its petals to the sun, but may well repay 
the closest study. The wisest of men studied 
botany so fully as to be able to write upon the 
vegetable world, 'from the cedar-tree that is 
in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that spring- 
eth out of the wall.' 

" You should assiduously cultivate the habit 
of observation, whether you are examining a 
leaf, a flower, or a bird. A city girl is apt to 
be very ignorant of the names of trees and 
plants. If in the country, she walks with an 
intelligent companion and is disposed to learn, 
she may in every walk, acquire much valuable 
knowledge of the names and appearance of the 
various shrubs and trees which adorn the hill- 
sides and the valleys of any country town. 

" I do not doubt but there are young ladies 
who were born, and have always lived, in beau- 
tiful places, who, from not cultivating the 
habit of observation, are almost wholly igno- 
rant of the wonderful things which Nature's 
God spreads out before them, to invite their 
investigation and their scrutiny. They may 
have read the latest novels or be able to repeat 



360 MEMORIALS OF 

the newest slander, but for real beauty they 
have little taste, and, for the works of creation 
no desire or knowledge. My daughter, be 
wiser. Seek for knowledge as for hid treasure. 
It will afford you a rich reward for all the 
labor bestowed, and make your time pass rap- 
idly and pleasantly in the country. 

" In regard to books, you will have sugges- 
tions from your teacher, which I will look over. 
Avoid novels and trash, and elevate your read- 
ing to those works of history or biography, 
which will improve the mind, inform the under- 
standing, and benefit the heart. I feel chiefly 
anxious, my dear daughter, about your spiritual 
interests. 

" The Bible is the safest and best book for 
the Sabbath. Avoid indolence on the Sabbath. 
It should be a cheerful day of active occu- 
pations in reading and prayer, in those hours 
which are not occupied in public worship. If 
the hours of the Sabbath drag heavily, and you 
have no taste for reading religious books, you 
may be sure your heart is not right in the sight 
of God. Rest not with such a conviction, but 
seek to know your real state, and in prayer 
ask God to show it you, and to lead you to 
deep repentance for sin, and to faith in the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 361 

Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. Avoid 
speaking disparagingly of other characters. If 
you cannot praise your acquaintances, say noth- 
ing about them. 

" And may the season you propose to spend 
in W. be one of much enjoyment and profit ! " 

After his return from a Western journey, and 
at the opening of the new year, my father 
writes to his mother-in-law, enfeebled by age, 
seeking to cheer her on her way by word and 
deed. How can we define attentions like these ? 
They were a part of the life, as necessary to 
his happiness as the fresh air of heaven for 
his breathing. 

" Deab Mother, — From our recent jour 
ney, I have brought a bottle of 'sparkling 
Catawba ' home in my trunk. It is the pure 
juice of the grape ; but to make it sparkle, a 
small piece of white sugar is dropped into each 
bottle. 

" The bottle I bought I send to you. I am 
not old enough to drink wine : I refer you, for 
authority, to 1 Tim. v. 23. But, lest you 
shouldn't like this, I put with it a bottle of 
Madeira, so that, by one or the other, your 
4 often infirmities ' may be healed. In Novem 

31 



362 MEMORIALS OF 

ber, I sent among other things, a drum of figs. 
I regret to learn that those figs were of a kind 
well described in Jeremiah xxiv. 2 ; viz., ' very 
naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they 
were so bad.' Now, I had no intention of send- 
ing you fruit of this description, but I was de- 
ceived by the upper layer, just as we are often 
deceived by a fair professor, who is within full 
of unrighteousness. It seems but an act of 
justice to replace the evil with good figs. This 
I have taken some pains to do, and, if I am 
deceived the second time, it will lead me to 
feel the truth of that other declaration of Jere- 
miah xvii. 5, 6 Cursed be the man that trust- 
eth in man. 5 These bottles and these figs 
however good, will only supply the body, and 
in the name of my wife is added something for 
the mind. With this and the cheerful temper 
which is obtained by waiting on the Lord and 
reading his holy word, we hope you will begin 
the new year with cheerful trust in the Lord. 
May it be a year of grace and blessing to you, 
and the daughter who ministers to you ! May 
the heavenly inheritance to which you are both 
tending, appear more and more desirable ! and 
may you be refreshed by the streams of salva- 
tion which flow for the comfort of weary pil- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 363 

grims on their journey from the city of De- 
struction to Mount Zion above ! " 

In writing to his daughter he transfers some 
of the suggestions of a literary friend, for her, 
of which the following is one : — 

"He thought that good biographies of distin- 
guished persons were excellent and instructive 
reading. This agrees with my own views. In 
biographies of public men, you obtain consider- 
able knowledge of the history of the country 
with which they were connected. The speeches 
of Edmund Burke are regarded as in the very 
best style of English eloquence, as are those of , 
Daniel Webster in this country." 

A quaint letter to his oldest grandchild may 
be interesting, as a specimen of many that he 
wrote to nieces and grandchildren, who asso- 
ciated these letters, as they grew older, with 
one whom they learned to love very dearly. 

"TO MY LITTLE GRANDDAUGHTER, — I am 

very happy to add you to the list of my cor- 
respondents. Your beautiful letter of Oct. 26, 
the first, I presume, you ever sent, made 
my heart glad. Now, little M., you must 
come here and see me, with all your little warm 



364 MEMORIALS OF 

clothes on. Tell your mamma she can well 
spare you a while, and we will try to keep you 
warm and comfortable. If she longs . to see 
you very much, before you go back, all she 
will have to do will be to come on to Boston. 
Our house and our hearts are large enough to 
welcome you all. You must not forget your 
stories about the pumpkins and the calf and the 
chickens, and all the pretty things you saw at 

W . I shall wish you to tell me all about 

these fine things. Come on by the boat or the 
cars, and I will meet and escort you to the 
house. We have bright sunshine here, while 
you have dark foggy weather in New York. 
Our streets are drier than yours. We have 
less noise at night, our weather is a little 
cooler and more bracing. We have a beautiful 
common, with trees and a pond and a fountain. 
We have a great State House here, where grave 
men assemble. Come, M., as soon as you get 
well prepared. If papa raises any objection, 
assure him that he will love you all the better 
for a temporary absence. Tell him that travel- 
ling expands the mind, and improves the con- 
versational powers. If he still objects, you can 
say that one's own happiness is increased by 
imparting to others, and that if they make 



CHARLES STODDARD. 365 

grandma happy by sending you on, it will re-act 
upon themselves. By such ingenious methods, 
you may lead the logical mind even of your 
dear father to the conclusion that it is right 
and best that you should visit Boston at this 
time. If he says any thing about the expense, 
you can say that would be a valid argument 
if he had half a dozen little girls, but with only 
one he surely cannot feel burdened. And you 
can further add that you have always under- 
stood that board was cheaper in Boston than in 
New York. The season of the year may be 
urged by your fond parents as a reason for not 
going from home. But you can say that we, in 
Boston, have an Indian summer late in the 
autumn, and even if it should be cold, that 
it will be likely to brace you up, and make you 
vigorous. 

" Give grandma's and Aunt M.'s and my 
love to your dear mother, with many kisses, 
and to your soldier father in his military or 
civil dress." 

Writing to his son then in the East he says : — 

" My deae, Son, — The details from the 
Black Sea are disastrous to the allies, and we 
are not without fears that they will have to 

31* 



366 MEMORIALS OF 

raise the siege of Sebastopol. The details of 
the battles are heart-sickening, and we may- 
well pray for the time ' when men will learn 
war no more.' How ardently should we long 
for the reign of the Prince of Peace ! His 
kingdom shall extend from shore to shore, and 
I fondly hope that my son will be instrumental 
in advancing this blessed reign of the Son of 
God. To this purpose let all your acquisitions 
be consecrated. 

" Speaking of peace, reminds me that Dr. 
B., on the last Sabbath, preached from the 
text, ' The peace of God, which passeth all 
understanding.' He showed the unsatisfactory 
nature of the peace a worldling has. He cries 
4 Peace, when there is no peace.' He spoke of 
the possibility and desirableness of possessing 
peace of conscience, peace with God through 
an assured hope in Christ, and of our becom- 
ing partakers of the peace which passeth 
understanding. It was a rich and delightful 
discourse, refreshing to your mother and myself. 

" You will see the countries you visit in the 
East, lying in wickedness. Egypt and Pales- 
tine are in a very abject state, sin and misery 
rampant. Let not the sight of so much human 
misery burden your heart, but rather touch 



CHARLES STODDARD. 367 

your sympathy and compassion, and desire to 
send them the gospel, the remedy for the woes 
of men. Possibly you may devise some plan 
by which you can do some good to some of 
these sons of Ham ; though as a stranger, 
ignorant of their language, I see not how you 
can do much but pray for them. You will 
realize what you carry with you, in the views 
you see in Egypt and Palestine. The Jew- 
ish prophets and writers had no scenery 
compared with Switzerland. Jordan was an 
insignificant stream. Their sea was land- 
locked. Yet what sublime imagery ! ' The 
everlasting mountains,' ' The perpetual hills did 
bow,' ' What ailed thee, thou Jordan, that 
thou wast driven back ? ' The reason is, the 
minds of the writers of Scripture were filled 
with holy, elevated, exalted conceptions of the 
infinite Jehovah, and apart from their inspira- 
tion, they were thus aided in their conceptions. 
We often pray for you, my dear son, that the 
Lord will guide you, and bless you, and keep 
you from all evil. We were very glad to hear 
of your safe arrival at Melita, where th^ great 
apostle of the Gentiles was shipwrecked, and 
where he wrought by the power of God, for the 
recovery of the ' father of Publius,' the ' chief 



368 MEMORIALS OF 

man of the island ' at that time ; where, 
though a prisoner bound with chains, he was 
honored with many honors, and from whence 
he sailed for Rome. Had your time permitted, 
we should have been much gratified by more 
details. 

" It will refresh you and Mr. M and Mr. 

p 5 after your long absence from religious 

privileges while in Egypt and Syria, to warmly 
enter into the prayers and labors of the beloved 
missionaries at these points, and I hope you 
will spend time enough to meet some of their 
native converts, perhaps to address them and 
to get your own missionary interest greatly 
increased. In this respect, act for your father, 
who has the missionary cause most at heart, 
and do not come back and say you ' hadn't 
time ' to sympathize with these good brethren. 
It will refresh them to kneel with you in 
prayer, and to have you express an interest in 
their work, and, if you put yourselves out to 
do this, you will reflect upon it with pleasure. 
Go up on Lebanon, and see Mr. Calhoun and 
others, and grasp their hands as brethren in 
Christ, and tell them you will pray for them, 
and cheer them on, while life shall last." 



CHARLES STODDARD. 369 

He writes again a short time later : — 

"February 20. 

" We feel grateful to God for his preserving 
care over you, when exposed to the fury of the 
storm at the mouth of the harbor of Alexan- 
dria. In praying for your preservation, I 
often am led to the scriptural expressions of 
Paul, ' perils of the sea,' 6 perils of the wilder- 
ness,' ' perils among false brethren,' &c. ; out of 
all which, I trust, the good Lord will deliver 
you. 

" The graphic descriptions contained in your 
various letters gave us very vivid and lifelike 
ideas of your circumstances. We travel with 
you over the interesting scenes you are passing 
through. 

" I fear Prof. Hopkins's letter ordering a 
sphinx did not reach you in Egypt. You must 
know that he will be dreadfully disappointed if 

he does not receive one. He thought M 

and P and S could readily fish up one, 

and bring it on, to remain with the slabs from 
Nineveh. 

" You are much upon my thoughts. Several 
times in your different letters you have alluded 
to the fact, which experience has made evident 
to you, that travelling is not exactly the pastime 



370 CHARLES STODDARD. 

persons who have not tried it imagined. I 
believe you will be as prudent and cautious as 
one of your age can be expected to be, and I 
hope you may return free from the aches and 
rheumatic pains which result from exposure to 
wet, and bad air, &c. At Constantinople I 
hope you will not only look at mosques, mina- 
rets, and seraglios, but at the humble work of 
the missionary. I should like to have you see 
Mr. D wight and his associates in the city; and 
also go up the Bosphorus to Bebec, and see 
Mr. Hamlin, and inspect the seminary there, 
and bring back a report of the welfare of these 

missionary men. I know Mr. M will like 

this, and presume Mr. P will also. I be- 
lieve it is more interesting and important in the 
sight of God, than the Acropolis and Parthenon 
of Athens, or all the works and wonders of 
heathen deities and builders. 

" You are often asked for by friends. Write 
as often as you can, and be assured we take 
a deep interest in all your movements. 
" Affectionately your father, 

"Charles Stoddard." 



XV. 
THE SECOND JOURNEY TO EUROPE. 

1855. 

~T~N pursuance of the plan which he followed 
-*- in the education of his children, my father 
arranged his business and private affairs for 
another absence in foreign countries, to give 
them each an opportunity to profit by the cul- 
ture thus afforded. This he did, but not till 
he had travelled with them in their own coun- 
try, and made its natural features familiar, as 
also the peculiarities of this government. For 
this purpose Niagara and Canada, the Mammoth 
Cave and the Southern States had been visited, 
the Capitol at Washington and State buildings, 
as well as some of the chief cities of the coun- 
try. These journeys were taken during vaca- 
tions, and not allowed to interrupt study, but 
intended, rather, to supplement book-learning 
with cultivation of the habit of observation. 

It seemed wise now for my father to leave his 
routine of daily responsibilities, and- refresh 

371 



372 MEMORIALS OF 

himself with an absence. He was fifty-three 
years old, and arrived at the stage of ripened 
manhood. He had worn his powers consid- 
erably by unremitting use, for he used to say he - 
i would rather wear out than rust out.' 

After crossing the ocean, on this proposed 
tour and a short stay in England and Scotland, 
he turned his face southward to meet the open- 
ing sprijig in Italy. From there he wrote as 
follows to his brother : — 

1855. 

" My dear Brother, — Your letter of the 
8th inst., I received here on the 16th. It was 
very welcome. We left Naples May 10, and 
drove to Mola the first night. The hotel there 
occupies a site adjoining the villa of Cicero, full 
of orange-groves, and extending to the Med- 
iterranean Sea, a scene of unrivalled beauty. 
Gaeta is five miles distant, on a point beautifully 
rounded from the land. There you remember 
Pius IX. took refuge for ten months, a few years 
ago. The next day we travelled thirty-six miles 
over the Pontine Marshes without seeing a 
house. The road is excellent, being the ancient 
Appian Way. We stopped a few moments at 
4 Appii Forum,' mentioned in the last chapter 
of Acts. The third day we drove to Albano, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 373 

and fifteen miles over the Campagna, without 
seeing scarce a single human habitation, to 
Rome. The country for many miles is, as you 
know, covered with broken arches of aque- 
ducts, but has no beautiful villas sprinkled over 
its surface. The impression of Rome is that of 
decay. The population is stationary, about one 
hundred and seventy-five thousand, and no new 
buildings going up. Yet it is a most interesting 
spot. We recall the Rome which for long years 
was mistress of the world ; its statesmen emi- 
nent above all other men of their time; its 
legions invincible till they lost their prestige. 
Its orators and jurists have been a model of the 
administration of justice by all modern nations, 
and Roman law has been the model on which is 
based much that is excellent in the legal enact- 
ments of England and our own country. We 
have seen the Pope, and been in his company 
more than an hour. He is a good-looking old 
gentleman of sixty-two, with a rather benevo- 
lent face, but evidently a man of little decision 
or firmness. It is said he is kept here by 
French soldiers, and is not popular with the 
people, but I know not how true this is. We 
are busily occupied, as you may suppose, in 
viewing the many objects of interest. The 
32 



374 MEMORIALS OF 

weather is very fine, not too warm, and thus for 
a slight shower every day. I had no idea the 
monuments of ancient Rome were so numerous. 
No one of them interests me more than the 
Arch of Titus, erected in commemoration of 
his conquest of Jerusalem. The bas-relief on 
it contains the triumphal procession, — the cap- 
tive Jews bearing the golden candlestick of the 
temple with six branches, the silver trumpet, 
and the table for the show-bread, all chiselled 
out in marble. There they have stood nearly 
eighteen hundred years, a striking testimony 
to the facts of that great series of events 
by which the prophecies of Scripture were 
accomplished in the overthrow of the Jewish 
people." 

To another brother who had previously been 
with him on a foreign journey : — 

" Dear Brother, — I thank you for your 
kind letter of the 9th April, received on the 1st 
inst. 

" You cannot tell how many times you have 
been pleasantly recalled to my wife and myself, 
since we have been in the Old World, and we 
should much love your pleasant company, your 
enterprising spirit, your enthusiasm, to help us 



CHARLES STODDARD. 375 

on. I am sure you would enjoy it. Just now 
we have no need, for Vesuvius, after five years' 
silence, has favored us with a splendid eruption. 
It began Tuesday morning, 1st May, after we 
had been here a week. That night the mountain 
on fire was a magnificent sight. The next day 
we went up, and found that a new crater had 
been opened, not on the top, but on the side of 
the mountain. Here we saw the red-hot lava 
projected from this caldron, in thickness like 
molasses, and glowing red-hot rocks and stones 
of all sizes and shapes flowed down the moun- 
tain with it. Fiery masses of several tons 
weight were rolling over and over, while Txom 
the mouth of the crater the stones and liquid fire 
were thrown into the air many feet. We re- 
mained several hours on and near Vesuvius, and 
then descended safely, having enjoyed a sight 
I never expected to behold, and being impressed 
with the power of Him ' who toucheth the 
hills, and they smoke.' The stream of lava like 
a river has now reached the valley, but not in 
the direction of any city. If it continues, how- 
ever, it must overwhelm villages and farms, and 
be destructive of property if not of life. 

" The scenery and associations around this 
bay are full of interest. I sent Sister F. a leaf 



376 MEMORIALS OF 

from the tomb of Virgil, near Naples, where 
he wrote his works, and was buried. Enclosed 
I send you an olive-leaf I took from an olive- 
tree I saw growing in a garden in Puteoli. 
You remember this was the town where Paul 
landed and spent seven days on his journey to 
Rome. See Acts xxviii. 13, 14. This town 
was settled by the Phoenicians from Tyre. In 
it we saw a disinterred heathen temple, and 
objects of interest. We have visited the villa 
of Julius Caesar, the villa of Cicero, of Nero, 
and of Lucullus, all in ruins now, but places 
actually built and occupied bj Roman em- 
perors. 

" The ruins of the palace of Tiberias Caesar 
are on the island of Capri, directly in front of 
our hotel windows. True, Rome was the resi- 
dence of the emperors, but then, they all 
wanted country-seats like modern gentry and 
snobs, and, the Bay of Naples combining so 
much more beauty and variety than any other 
part of Italy, they located here. We have 
walked through the streets of Pompeii, and 
seen the frescos on the walls of these houses, 
and the mosaic pavement of the courts, all fresh 
as if finished yesterday, and we have descended 
into Herculaneum, seventy feet. Two tow?is 



CHARLES STODDARD. 377 

were built over the latter without its being 
known there was any town below. There are 
many other objects of interest here. We re- 
main a few days longer." 

During my father's absence in Europe, in 
1855, he was called to bear two severe trials. 

While in Italy, his daughter, travelling with 
them, fell ill of that subtle disease, the Roman 
fever. The attack was violent, and continu- 
ing through weeks of prostration, carried her 
to the verge of the grave. 

The season had become warm, and scattered 
the American travellers ; even the residents of 
Florence had gone for coolness to the sea or 
the baths. There was not an English physician 
remaining from whom my father could seek 
advice. Accordingly he secured the services of 
an Italian physician and an Italian nurse, who 
watched the u pauvra bambina," as they called 
the helpless sufferer, with skill and tenderness. 

Slowly the malady gave way. I have heard 
my father ascribe the recovery of his daughter 
not to fierce remedies, but unwearied watching 
and nursing. A loving Parent, wiser than he, 
had left him to the seeming hardship of seek- 
ing strangers to care for his child, when, as it 
32* 



378 MEMORIALS OF 

proved, their peculiar knowledge of the climate 
and its diseases made them the fit instruments 
for saving her life. 

These faithful ministrations, joined to sub- 
missive but unceasing prayer, were rewarded, 
in due season, by her returning health. 

Almost at the moment that his daughter was 
pronounced out of danger, the second trial 
came, at home in America, in a short and dan- 
gerous illness which had seized upon a beloved 
granddaughter. The angel of death and the 
angel of life were sent on their appropriate 
errands. The little one was carried to the arms 
of her Saviour. My father " wept with those 
that wept." The letters of comfort and sym- 
pathy he wrote are not for others to read than 
those to whom they brought comfort. In writ- 
ing, however, to John Tappan, Esq., his uncle, 
he alludes to these experiences : — 

1855. 

" My dear Sir, — Many times since we left 
America, I have thought I would sit down and 
write you, but have been hindered hitherto. 
We have passed through many scenes and vicis- 
situdes, some joyous, some sorrowful. Travel- 
Ling abroad, as at home, we find that there is 
no cup of happiness unmixed. Generally, we 



CHARLES STODDARD. 379 

have been favored with fine weather and good 
health. Our visit of several weeks at Naples, 
and after at Rome, was at a delightful season 
of the year, and the monuments of the past, 
and the gayety of the present exhibited by 
the whole population at Naples, corresponded 
well with the vernal season of the year. 
The eruption of Vesuvius was grand and sub- 
lime. At Florence, as you already know, we 
were called to watch the bedside of our daugh- 
ter, and for many days were held in suspense 
as to what the Lord would please to do with 
us. His great mercy was shown in sparing our 
child. He graciously heard our prayers, and 
averted the stroke we had every reason to 
anticipate ; and ' blessed be his holy name ! ' 

"We had begun to journey northward, and 
had reached the city of Milan, when tidings 
reached us that our dear grandchild had been 
transplanted to the presence of Him who said, 
1 Suffer little children to come unto me, and 
forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven.' But as the announcement to us 
of this sore bereavement, by the mother, was 
accompanied by expressions of the most com- 
plete resignation to the will of God, who had 
removed the child of their affections, how 
could we murmur or repine ? 



380 MEMORIALS OF 

" Since that time we have crossed and re- 
crossed the mountains which bound the north- 
ern part of Italy, going over the Splugen, the 
Bernardina, and the Simplon to Geneva. We 
had clear fine weather through the week it took 
to accomplish this, and magnificent views of 
Alpine scenery." 

While travelling he received from his brother 
A. the following : — 

"My dear Brother Charles, — It was 
my intention to have written you before now ; 
but I have delayed, hoping that I might have 
some news to communicate from the other side 
of the water; but, since yours arrived, not a 
line has reached me from that quarter. I now 
begin to realize that you, my dear brother, are 
absent from your post. For more than ten 
years, you have been my constant, faithful cor- 
respondent, upon whose ready pen and brotherly 
affection I have relied for family and local 
information almost wholly. And I need not 
say, that all our family circle have occasion to 
thank you for similar favors, as well as many 
other acts of kindness too numerous io men- 
tion. Perhaps I have not sufficiently appre- 
ciated this kindness, but believe me I do 



CHARLES STODDARD. 381 

keenly feel, if I do not often thank you for 
such attentions. Yesterday, I had the pleasure 
of reading your pleasant lines, dated 27th 
April, at Naples, which have been a long time 
reaching me. I read the letter aloud to my 
family, that evening, and all expressed much 
pleasure in hearing it. We rejoice that you 
have been so highly favored thus far, and pray 
that c goodness and mercy may follow you ' all 
the journey through, and that you may all be 
brought back to us in peace. The route you 
have followed is precisely the same that I 
travelled nineteen years ago. 

"I have followed you in imagination every 
step of the way from Paris, and fancied you 
looking upon the splendid churches and pal- 
aces of Genoa, that ancient but now impover- 
ished and decayed resort of commerce ; then 
walking through the galleries of the Campo 
Santo at Pisa, where lie the bones of mighty 
warriors who perished in the Crusades; or 
looking down from the giddy tower so famous 
in architecture, or wandering amid the ruins 
of buried cities near Naples, or clambering up 
to Virgil's classic villa, or treading the strand 
once trod by St. Paul, and anon gazing on the 
turbulent upheavals of Vesuvius. Now you 



382 CHARLES STODDARD. 

are in Rome, that city where lie enshrined the 
relics of past ages, the ancient seat of learning 
and of empire, and now the home of modern 
art ; a city which fascinated and bound us 
with the spell of a magician's wand, uniting as 
it does, the past with the present, the real with 
the unreal, the shadow with the substance. 
There too is the seat 'of the beast,' that 
mother of harlots, who sitteth on the seven 
hills, making war upon the saints. Sad to see 
such a beautiful land, such a fine race of men, 
so degraded morally, spiritually, intellectually, 
so priest-ridden and down-trodden ; is it not ? 
But I must stop lest perchance the ' beast ' 
should open this sheet, and take vengeance 
upon you for having a correspondent who dares 
to touch him in his den. 

"Dost thou flow, 
Old Tiber ! through a moral wilderness ? 
Rise with thy yellow waves, and mantle her distress." 



" Affectionately, 

"Your Brother A. 



xvr. 

THE MINISTRY OF LOVE AT HOME. 

X8574860. 

IPROM one who was an inmate of my 
-*- father's family, and personally shared the 
loving influence that pervaded his daily home 
life, I have received the following reminis- 
cences : — 

"Few who met Mr. Stoddard in business 
merely, or even those who were associated with 
him in the charities which occupied so much 
of his life, knew one part of his character. 

" The daily sunshine that he shed in his 
home was never clouded. Many may have 
thought him Puritanical, stern, repressing mirth 
and joy, and critical in judging the deeds 
and motives of others. Nothing could be 
further from the truth. Criticism was forbid- 
den in the family circle, and he himself inva- 
riably expressed the widest charity for the weak 
and erring. Such knew well to whom they 

383 



384 MEMORIALS OF ' 

should appeal for help, nor did he give them 
one word of bitterness or discouragement. Of 
all who have gone to him to confess the burden 
of some deep fault, some crime perhaps, no one 
was met with severity or reproof. To help 
with his best advice, with substantial aid, and 
wise encouragement, he felt to be his duty, 
and while hating the sin, never did he cast a 
stone at the sinner. 

" Far from what many supposed, his Christian 
charity was not limited by any creed. There 
is scarcely a sect of which he - has not been 
heard to particularize members as true Chris- 
tians. Often when speaking of his differences 
of religious opinion from some one, he would 
add, with a bright smile, 4 But I expect to meet 
him in heaven.' Personally, he was most diffi- 
cult to convince. His opinions were well 
weighed and pertinaciously adhered to. No 
trace of indecision or vacillation was there. 
But in all matters of opinion merely, when 
vital principle was not involved, he left others 
as free to judge for themselves. While sham 
and pretence shrunk before his candid soul as 
at the touch of Tthuriel's spear, no one had a 
deeper regard for sincere conviction ; with no 
one did those who knew him well, feel so free 



CHARLES STODDARD. 385 

to believe and act according to their own honest 
opinions. 

" He always served the Lord with gladness. 
His cheerful morning greeting, and the flowers 
or rare fruit which those who were under his 
roof so often found by their plates at breakfast, 
started the day brightly. He never left the 
house without the question, to him no mere 
form, 'What can I do for any of you to-day?' 
He seldom came home empty-handed. He 
brought a new book, a toy for the child, a 
novelty of foreign importation, or an interesting 
extract from some journal, often gifts of much 
value, almost always something to give, which 
was in life his great delight. 

" When summoned from his meals to attend 
to some needy petitioner, a circumstance which 
took place almost every day, he never showed 
impatience, but after listening to the tale of 
sorrow, and bestowing perhaps relief, he re- 
turned with the same sweet smile on his face, 
and took up the conversation where it left off. 

" For many years a resident in Mr. Stod- 
dard's home, I can truly say, I never saw a 
frown on his brow, or heard an angry word from 
his lips. No one outside his family knew his 

indulgence or his tenderness to his children 

33 - 



386 MEMORIALS OF 

and grandchildren. To express a wish for a 
certain gift, a certain trip, a visit to a certain 
place, was to be sure it would, in the right 
time, be gratified. A few points of principle 
Mr. Stoddard held fast for those under his 
charge ; outside of these points, he was stern 
only toward himself. His thorough enjoyment 
of a good joke, of children's romps, and of 
young people's fun, was marked. He liked the 
young about him, and was never happier than 
in taking a party of such on a pleasant journey, 
or for a day's excursion. 

"Mr. Stoddard, in his home, no less than 
abroad, ever showed the manners of a perfect 
gentleman. It is impossible for me to recall, 
in a daily experience of long years, one careless- 
ness or negligence in appearance or manner, 
one ungentle or unrefined word or act. No one 
ever entered his presence without being assured 
of regard and consideration. The lowest, as 
the highest, surely met that gentle respect 
which humanity should claim in virtue of its 
birth, but which, alas ! is so often forgotten 
toward the humble and lowly. Respect a man 
to help him respect himself, was his motto and 
his practice towards all, even the fallen. Ts 
there any better encouragement to any one ? 



CHARLES STODDARD. 387 

" His servants recognized his regard for their 
comfort, and his appreciation of any excellence 
on their part, and in several instances, re- 
turned true gratitude and affection. Some 
came a long distance to look on his kindly fea- 
tures in death, and shed tears of sincere sorrow 
over his coffin. It is truly lovely when the 
daily beauty of the life of a Christian gentle- 
man can be attested by those brought in 
hourly _and disenchanting contact with him. 
His exact punctuality was recognized by all, 
but only those of his household could know the 
refined and exquisite order which prevailed in 
his personal habits. The purity of his life 
showed itself in his belongings, all of which 
were spotlessly pure and faultlessly ordered. 
His tastes were all refined, though he practised 
lifelong self-denial in many of these, notably in 
little luxuries to which his fortune entitled 
him. He practised this self-denial that he 
might have wherewith to bestow more abun- 
dantly on others ; yet there were a few delicate 
personal refinements that were a necessity to 
his nature, and these bespoke the man as truly 
as did his wider and nobler works. 

" The benevolence of Mr. Stoddard showed 
itself not merely in his charities, but in every- 



388 MEMORIALS OF 

day thoughtfulness of those around him. It is 
sometimes harder to quit an easy-chair in a 
warm corner, than to subscribe a hundred dol- 
lars in charity. It is sometimes easier to give 
away a large sum, than to reply courteously 
and soothingly to a sharp attack. To patiently 
and constantly put the comfort of every other 
one before our own is a real trial of Christian 
grace. In that essential politeness which is the 
heart of chivalry, Mr. Stoddard never failed. 
To the aged, to women, and to the helpless 
young, he was tenderly gentle and helpful. 
His thoughtful devotion to those who bore the 
burden of infirmity was most touching. The 
atmosphere of love and kindness of his home 
was good to breathe, and its memory a sweet 
resting-place when the heart is weary. To how 
many tired spirits has his house been a haven 
of rest ! How blessed to enter from rude buf- 
feting with the world into that calm retreat 
consecrated to gentle beneficence, purity, and 
goodness ! It was an inspiration to a better 
life, and one could not long rest there without 
feeling that the spirit of a higher than the 
Christian host was within, that the pure and 
holy One did not disdain to shed his influence 
where it was so earnestly sought. Thence came 



CHARLES STODDARD. 389 

all which made daily life with this dear man so 
lovely. For ' the fruits of the Spirit are love, 
joy, peace.' " 

After a New- Year's greeting to his brother 
far away, he writes : — 

"My dear Brother A., — Here we have 
had a month of real winter weather, k^en and 
cold, but sunny for the most part, with a large 
body of snow on the ground and good sleighing 
all over the country, North and South, East 
and West. 4 Wh6 can stand before His cold?' 
(Ps. cxlvii. 17) was a question asked by the 
patriarch of Judges, who inhabited a sunnier 
clime and a more southern latitude than ours. 
This question has never been affirmatively an- 
swered, except with qualifications and condi- 
tions which neutralize the demand. c Cold 
cometh out of the north,' is another declaration 
of the Scriptures, the truth of which is proved 
by the experience of every winter here. The 
past week a north wind blew two days, which 
at first seemed comparatively mild, but grew 
stern, severe, sharp, cutting, tingling, and 
ended with biting the ears and noses of those 
exposed to its intensity. I often think when 
panting in the hot days of summer for a breath 

33* 



390 MEMORIALS OF 

of air, the weathercock pointing S, of the exact 
description of Luke, when he wrote, Acts xxvii. 
13, that c the south wind blew softly.' 

" But not alone with reference to the weather 
and the wind is the sacred record profitable and 
instructive. Chiefly are its wonderful words to 
be valued for the spirit and life they impart in 
the great and important subject of our relations 
to God, and how a sinner may become reconciled 
to God. Blessed be his name, we are not left 
in doubt in a matter of such high concern ! 
Blessed, be his name for the assurance that 
'there is therefore no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after 
the flesh, but after the Spirit ' (Rom. viii. 1) ! 
Are we thus walking ? Then we may be sure 
we are free from condemnation. We shall 
never come into condemnation, if we walk after 
the Spirit, regulating our motives and our con- 
duct by the will of God, as laid down in his 
holy word. Let us have faith, without which 
it is impossible to please God. Then shall we 
have his approbation and his blessing. 

" Your portrait hangs where it hung when 
you visited us last, and very pleasantly reminds 
of you; opposite, the sweet, benignant, gentle 
countenance of your companion. They almost 



CHARLES STODDARD. 391 

smile upon us. Not that we need any external 
object to keep our dear brother and sister in 
mind, still they are very pleasant to look upon, 
and we thank you for them. We must keep up 
our affection by frequent intercourse, and re- 
member, it is your turn to visit ust In the 
mean time, we ask an interest in your prayers, 
that we may abound in the fruits of righteous- 
ness, and glorify God." 

The next letter here inserted is to his 
daughter : — 

" Dear M., — The memoir of Mrs. Abigail 
Waters, which I send you by mail, I should 
like you to read. She was an eminent member 
of our church one hundred years ago. You will 
read of her conversion and of her deeds with 
interest. Once she was young like you. Then 
she was instrumental of gathering a prayer- 
meeting among the ladies of our church, 
which has continued till now. Her memory is 
fragrant. I once saw and conversed with her. 
She was then in her last illness, but was an 
eminent saint, and I remember the impression 
of awe I felt. She was then in the corner 
chamber, in the wooden house on the corner of 
Essex and Kingston Streets. You have often, 



392 MEMORIALS OF 

no doubt, looked at it while standing on the 

steps of Mrs. 's house. She died in that 

room. If you should have time to read it 
before you leave Savannah, you may present it 

to your uncle J in my name ; and you shall 

have another copy. Mrs. Waters was a blood 
relation of yours, — a sister of your Grand- 
mother Stoddard's grandmother." 

The letters which follow, most of them to 
nieces and nephews, are inserted to give as 
broad a view, in his own words, as is possible, 
of his constant kindness to those younger mem- 
bers of his family connections, that led them to 
revere and love him, as all did, without excep- 
tion. He descended to their interests, to lift 
them up to sympathy with his highest longings 
for them. 

These relatives are scattered far and wide; 
but, if they see these pages, their hearts will 
respond to this statement, while they will gladly 
acknowledge that his influence has bettered 
their lives. 

" My deah Nephew, — I think you will be 
twelve years old on the 24th of July next. I 
remember how I felt at that age. I left my 



CHARLES STODDARD. 393 

father's house, and never returned there to live. 
One year I spent at school in Portsmouth^ 
N.H. There I was far away from my friends, 
with no one to whom I could open my heart. 
What could I do ? I kneeled down, and asked 
Jesus to be my friend. He heard my prayer, 
and I bless his holy name this day. He has 
always been good and kind to me. He has 
borne with my waywardness and folly, and 
delivered me from all my fears, and crowned 
my life with his goodness. 

" Make Jesus your friend by daily prayer, 
and his word your guide, and he will do as 
much for you. At thirteen I came to this city, 
and entered a dry-goods store. This was nearly 
forty-five years ago ; yet here I continue. My 
' bread has been given me, and my water has 
been sure ; ' and I feel it in my heart to praise 
the name of the Lord." 

" My dear Nephew, — I was pleased to 
receive your letter, and to learn from it your 
employment and recreations. So you are away 
from home most of the week at school. You 
say you are very fond of school. I am glad, 
because, when you love study you will gain 
knowledge much faster. The list of studies 



394 MEMORIALS OF 

you give is rather long for a boy of your age 
who wishes to be thorough, but if you are 
able to master them all, and keep well too, I 
shall not regret the number. I have not for- 
gotten your request for postage-stamps. I send 
a few enclosed. Perhaps you have them 
already. I do not receive many stamps on let- 
ters, except of the kinds you have ; but if I 
can collect some that are rare, I will send them 

to you. F -, we should be very happy 

to have a visit from you ; when you can spare 
time from your studies, will you not come and 
visit us ? Perhaps w^e may have a visit from 
your father and mother and all the family, 
which will delight us much. 

" The spring is now fairly opened with all 
its beauties, flowers, and fragrant breezes, and 
songs of birds, and bright sunshine. How ani- 
mating is spring to the youthful heart ! How 
jubilant and active it makes us, in young life, 
to ramble freely in wood and over lawn, or to 
ride on pony through brake and jungle, over 
hills and through valleys, and beside still 
waters ! In due time, however, chill winter 
comes again, and stiffens and congeals all such 
pleasures. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 395 

* There is a land of pure delight, 
Where saints immortal reign: 
Infinite day excludes the night, 
And pleasures banish pain. 

There everlasting spring abides, 
And never-withering flowers : 

Death, like a narrow sea, divides 
This heavenly land from ours. 

Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
Stand dressed in living green.' 

" May you, my dear nephew, by grace be pre 
pared for that glorious home, when this life 
shall be ended ! " 

" My dear Brother, — I see you have had 
a fortnight of snowy, frosty weather, such as we 
have much of, and that you all enjoyed the 
scenery. Few things are more beautiful thau 
the fantastic forms which snow and frost assume 
upon a window, and upon the boughs of trees. 
We have had a most magnificent exhibi- 
tion of ice-works. Every stem and fibre and 
trunk of the two thousand trees on our com- 
mon were incased in a coating of brilliant ices, 
which remained two or three days, and glittered 
in the sun, superior to all the diamonds and 
brilliants of the world collected together, and 



396 MEMORIALS OF 

hung upon the trees. There is such a prodi- 
gality in all the exhibitions of divine power and 
beauty, so much more in reserve than is shown, 
that all the attempts of men shrink into utter 
insignificance in the comparison. I thought of 
the green vault at Dresden, containing the 
crown jewels and regalia, so highly celebrated 
throughout Europe. How much more grand 
and imposing these jewels which God scatters 
in such profusion ! The particles of new-fallen 
snow after a storm frequently sparkle in the 
sun like a sea of diamonds, dazzling to the 
eyes ; each tiny particle of all these countless 
ones is the handiwork of the great Creator." 

Grandfather Stoddard, having more than 
filled the threescore years and ten, quietly 
went to his rest in November, 1860. A passing 
mention of this event is made in my father's 
letter to his son, which follows : — 

" My deab Son, — Since we parted after the 
funeral of your honored grandfather, I have not 
heard from you. The remembrance of that 
day will not soon pass away. His memory is 
blessed and fragrant. Rev. Dr. Eddy preached 
a sermon on the last Sabbath, prepared with 
reference to the death of the patriarch. In it 



CHARLES STODDARD. 397 

Dr. Eddy draws a contrast between Aaron Burr 
and your grandfather ; both descended from 
the same stock, both children of the covenant, 
both lawyers. He contrasts the life and death 
of each with much force, and applies the whole 
to the young, urging them to shape their early 
life by piety, purity, and devotedness to Christ, 
so that their last days may be peaceful, and 
their eternity glorious." 

To his brother A., on occasion of his fiftieth 
birthday, he writes full of joy and hope : ■ — 

" So your jubilee 3 7 ear, and that of the Amer- 
ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
sions came the same year. It was a pleasant 
circumstance to me, as it will be to you, that 
you made a jubilee donation to the Board on 
their jubilee and yours. May you commence 
your second half-century as free from debt and 
as hopefully as the Missionary Board does ! 
And may your future and theirs be onward and 
upward, each dispensing rich blessings on many 
ready to perish ! 

" The season is more forward than usual at 
this date, by two or three weeks ; frost out of 
the ground, no snow or ice, and flowers be- 
ginning to bloom. How beautiful are the re- 

34 



398 CHARLES STODDARD. 

volving seasons ! ever changing, silent yet 
refreshing, as they unfold to our senses ; noth- 
ing sudden or violent, but quiet and gentle, — so 
quiet and gentle that we are hardly conscious 
of any alteration. The works of God are won- 
derful, and sought out of all those that have 
pleasure therein. But the word of God con- 
tains the treasury of his infinite mind, and is a 
far more glorious object of study and contem- 
plation. By meditating on its sacred truths, 
which we could not know if they had not been 
revealed, we may be changed into a sort of re- 
semblance to them. How much those lose who 
meditate but seldom, and with little fixedness 
of mind, on the glorious truths of the word of 
God ! Attainments in this sacred knowledge 
will abide and give pleasure, when all other 
knowledge shall vanish away. 

" If we are Christians, we are constantly draw- 
ing nearer to our heavenly home. Let us grow 
in meetness for its celestial society by a famil- 
iar acquaintance with the only book which 
reveals to us all we know of things unseen; 
which alone unfolds the Lord Jesus Christ as 
the way, the truth, the life, the joy, the hope, 
the satisfying portion of the believer.' 



XVII. 

PATRIOTISM, AND PRACTICAL WIS^ 
DOM. 

1862486*. 

rpHREESCORE years had brought my father 
-L on his way. He was fresh and warm in his 
sympathies, and his habits of body and mind 
were in wakeful activity. But his life had 
been one of unwearied labor, of unusual re- 
sponsibility, and although his health was good, 
yet he showed less elasticity after fatigue. He 
would sometimes playfully say he ' should like 
to grow old gracefully.' If he meant by this, a 
widening of his benevolence, an ever-enlarging 
charity for others, an added sparkle to his 
genial humor at home with his family, his wish 
was granted. The even temper of his middle 
life seemed the result of a strong will wisely 
controlled; the sunny character of his riper 
years was the outgrowth of his ever-developing 
love to God and man. The family worship in 
his home, in these later years, was remarked 



400 MEMORIALS OF 

upon by those who were inmates of his family. 
His prayers reached outward and upward in 
their faith, and carried those who united in 
them to the presence of Him whom, though un- 
seen, he loved. A friend was so impressed with 
one of these seasons that she has recalled it for 
me. The subject for reading was Gen. xxxvi., 
almost entirely genealogy, but the prayer which 
followed dwelt upon our relationship to God, 
which lasts through eternity, when earthly re- 
lationships and titles shall have passed away. 
The simplicity of his prayers was as marked 
as their devotion. There was much of praise 
in them, and this spirit he cultivated. 

In writing to a daughter on the subject of 
prayer, he expresses himself thus : — 

" The inference, that you cannot be a Chris* 
tian while you find no delight in prayer, is not 
necessarily or always true. Many an humble 
disciple has found no nearness of access to 
Christ, and no enjoyment in prayer for a long 
time, who yet gave clear evidence to others 
that he was a true disciple. Frames and feel- 
ings are not the test, so much as a settled pur- 
pose developed in a daily life conformed to the 
gospel. Keeping the commandments of God 



CHARLES STODDARD. 401 

is his test that we love him." But with him 
the delight was so positive in this exercise, that 
he could hardly understand the lack of joy in 
its performance. 

His regularity in attendance on public worship, 
and the meetings of the church, was in accord- 
ance with the method shown everywhere in his 
life. His influence was thus in these relations 
decided. One of his cousins, a warm friend, 
recalls the following anecdote with regard to 
his undeviating habit of occupying his seat at 
his own church : — 

Bishop Mcllvaine being about to preach at 
St. Paul's Church, Mr. Stoddard asked a cousin 
visiting him, if she would like to hear the 
eminent divine. Upon her replying in the 
affirmative, he said, "I suppose if St. Paul 
should drop down from heaven, and were to 
preach anywhere save in Old South Church, 
he would not have me for a hearer." 

Dr. Blagden, with whom my father was asso- 
ciated for a period of thirty-six years, said of 
him, " He was essentially devoted to the 
church of Christ. So devoted was he that he 
was peculiarly careful about uniting himself in 
membership with any organization that did not 
carry out that end. He loved the simple form 

34* 



402 MEMORIALS OF 

of worship and government in Congregational 
churches, and the freedom they encouraged in 
the investigation and advancement of religious 
truth, and their harmony with the forms of 
our political institutions. He was scrupulously 
careful about punctual attendance upon all the 
meetings, and while others might be absent, 
lie could be counted upon as one to be present." 
He deprecated strongly the habit of running 
from one service to another, and said " that 
Christians should go where they could do good, 
and be useful ; not where they enjoyed solely." 
He used to say that " men should be like the 
sun, givers, not receivers only." His habitually 
charitable view of others is illustrated by the 
following extract from a letter written about 
this time : — 

" One thing I think we should not do much, 
viz., indulge in wholesale denunciation of either 
good or bad men. Did you ever read and won- 
der at the prudence of a certain personage 
mentioned in Jude, verse 9 ? — ' Yet Michael 
ihe archangel, when contending with the Devil, 
he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not 
bring against him a railing accusation, but said, 
" The Lord rebuke thee." ' " 



CHARLES STODDARD. 403 

Letters from his brother to Mr. Stoddard 
were frequent at this time, on the subject of the 
war. The writer, from his standpoint, sees our 
perils and mistakes, and boldly states them. 

The replies of my father are as follows : — 

" Here we are by the seaside, all well. I see 
you say, c South Carolina has "clean gone" out. 
'Tis a pity, but better so than eternal grum- 
bling and uncertainty. All will end well in 
the long-run.' You forbear to dwell on the 
political troubles in the United States. They 
are themes of profitless and endless discussion, 
but at the present moment, of engrossing in- 
terest to all Americans. It would seem, from 
the accounts we get, that the Union is to be 
dismembered by the secession of more or less 
of the slave States. It is sad that matters have 
come to this pass, but any thoughtful man 
must have seen and felt, for many years past, 
that the two systems of freedom and slavery 
were incompatible, and must, sooner or later, 
come into collision. It is, in fact, an c irrepressi- 
ble conflict ' of opinion betwixt light and dark- 
ness, liberty and tyranny, truth and error, 
which, however pasted and patched up for a 
time, must inevitably come to an issue. Poli- 



404 MEMORIALS OF 

ticians have, for more than fifty years been 
trying to put off this day, instead of going to 
the root of the evil, and trying to get the can- 
cerous matter removed ; but it has been spread- 
ing and widening, until it must either kill or 
be cured. And whether with or without seces- 
sion, I look for a speedy solution of this prob- 
lem now. If our Southern neighbors are wise, 
they will anticipate events, and take immedi- 
ate measures for the termination of slavery, 
rather than wait for the alternative of a bloody 
revolution which is sure to follow secession. 

" At all events, it is quite clear, that, for all 
concerned, we should now get this subject so 
adjusted as to put an end, once and forever, to 
the agitation which often occurs; and if we 
cannot get the initiatory steps taken to end 
slavery, then, I say, let secession come, but ho 
more compromises. I do trust that the North- 
ern States will stand firmly by their principles, 
and not be led to tamper with a system of wrong, 
robbery, and oppression, by reason of any self- 
ish, mercenary views. If they do so, all will 
be well in the end, but if otherwise, all this 
trouble and confusion and excitement will have 
to be gone over again a few years hence. For 
one, I am willing to suffer. I am already suf- 



CHARLES STODDARD, 405 

fering ; our business is paralyzed, orders cut off, 
customers unable to pay, and heavy losses will 
ensue. 

" But I am not so selfish as to wish to stave 
off this crisis to a coming generation, because 
it affects my pocket. 

"Rather let it come now; and if I live to 
see this huge fabric of barbarism totter and 
fall, I shall be content. 

" God, I believe, will overrule all this com- 
motion and contention, and cause the truth to 
prevail, in spite of all the previous darkness." 

April, 1861. 

" My dear Brother A.,^— I have your letter 
of 5th inst., received yesterday. Your remark^ 
about the inefficiency of our government came 
at a time when the government is putting forth 
every energy to sustain itself, backed up by the 
united voice of all the free States, rushing to 
arms with such promptness and celerity as 
astonishes every one. The call of the president 
was issued on the 15th inst. ; and, ere six days 
had elapsed, Massachusetts had called together 
and sent forward four regiments, one of which 
was in Washington in four days, but not till 
some had fallen, and their blood been shed in 
the streets of Baltimore by the mob. 



406 MEMORIALS OF 

" This was on the anniversary of the 19th 
April, 1775, when the first blood of Massachu- 
setts was shed in the war of the Revolution. I 
send you one or two papers which will give you 
the latest news. I have never seen our people 
so united and determined. The free States are 
united shoulder to shoulder, every press, every 
pulpit. Money is poured out like water. Three 
hundred million dollars have been offered to the 
government, by Boston and New York. Our 
city is full of the military passing south. The 
enthusiasm is unbounded." 

To the same a few months later : — 

" My dear Brother A., — I duly received 
your letter of 16th April, on 30th. Events suc- 
ceed each other here with so much rapidity 
now, that a new view of affairs becomes old 
very soon. Suffice it to say, that the United 
States Government, under Lincoln, shows suffi- 
cient energy and vigor for the occasion. The 
capital is safe ; the ports of all the seceders are 
to be closed, and their resources cut off; so 
that the Rebellion must yield, and its leaders 
be made examples of. It is only a question of 
time. I enclose you two printed documents, — - 
an address to his constituency by Charles F, 






CHARLES STODDARD. 407 

Adams, who is now on his way as our new 
minister to the court of England. He is a son 
of John Quincy Adams, and grandson to the 
second president of the United States, and a 
statesman. His address gives a fair view, I 
think, of the dangers we have passed, and is 
truthful. The other enclosure is the instruc- 
tions of our government to our new diplomatist 
at the French court ; from which you will see 
the clear and distinct avowal of our administra- 
tion, that the idea of two governments here is 
not to be admitted. Certainly, the stand taken 
is pretty clearly stated, and will be maintained. 
The people in all the free States are united to a 
man. The call for military troops is so readily 
responded to, that the full amount asked, one 
hundred and fifty thousand, will be ready this 
month, and money is so freely offered that we 
shall not need to go abroad to borrow a dollar. 
Twenty-three millions of dollars have been ap- 
propriated by States and cities for military pur- 
poses, independent of the general government. 
And in Boston, a soldiers' fund for the families 
of those who may fall in battle, has reached 
thirty-three thousand dollars." 

To the same brother: — 



408 MEMORIALS OF 

" I send with this a 4 Weekly Advertiser,' 
which will give you the progress of the war. 
The Federal troops have suffered a defeat, 
which will, for a time, give courage and 
strength to the rebels. Eventually we may 
hope it will work for good to us. It should 
lead every man, and especially every Christian, 
to humble himself individually before the Lord, 
and repent of and forsake his sins. It should 
prevent boasting, and glorifying instruments, 
and lead us to look less to man, and more to 
God. 

" Joshua, the leader of Israel, after crossing 
the Jordan at God's command, was defeated in 
his first battle. So was the army who attacked 
the Benjamites, at God's command, in an evil 
war. I am hopeful and trustful, and commit 
the cause to God. 

" Nephew George and his regiment were in 
the battle. We have not yet heard from him, 

or the particulars of his command. Col. B 

was in a different quarter." 

To another brother : — 

"January 17, 1863. 

" Dear W., — I think well of your new mode 
of taking up your collections. Why do you fear 



CHARLES STODDARD. 409 

for the result ? You will not give less. Can 
you not trust others ? 

"In our church we have a committee ap- 
pointed, once a year, for each object. I have been 
chairman of the foreign mission committee. As 
this cause requires much the largest sum, our 
operations being in distant parts of the earth, 
special pains are taken. Friday of the previous 
week, I send to all the principal contributors 
at their homes, or through the post-office, a 
small printed paper enclosed in a sealed envel- 
ope, that each may know beforehand that the 
collection is to be taken the next Sabbath, and 
be prepared for it. On Sabbath morning these 
printed envelopes are put in each pew (two or 
three), and also the printed note, and the printed 
notice read from the pulpit. Many take the 
envelopes home at noon, and insert their contri- 
butions, and write their names. 

" Heretofore we have given notice that any 
whose names were not in the boxes would be 
called on. This year we did not. Our success, 
by the favor of God, is due to a long training 
of our people, and setting them a good example. 

" The committee on home missions have for 
some years gone to individuals ; so they do 
for city missions. For all other objects we 

35 



410 MEMORIALS OF 

have collections, and generally no sermons, 
unless by one of the pastors. This year and 
last we had no missionary sermon. I think the 
great point is to get your people to give on 
principle, and not to be seen of men. In our 
case we have sealed envelopes, and the sums 
given are known only to a very few. If any 
neglect to give, they should be waited on. If 
one is not prepared to give in money, insert in 
the notice, in which they put their name, the 
sum they will give on paper. As to our national 
affairs, looking from an earthly standpoint, they 
look dark. Not so to God. Head aloud God's 
address to Job in the thirty-eighth and thirty- 
ninth chapters, and remember that Job was a 
good man, whose conduct in general was pleas- 
ing to him, but who, by his afflictions, had lost 
his faith. 

" God is a sovereign in his dealings with na- 
tions and with individuals. He is not bound to 
continue us as a nation. Perhaps he will not 
do it. Certainly such a proud, boasting people 
as we, deserve to be humbled and punished ; 
neither is he bound to help us because our 
rulers have proclaimed liberty to the captives. 
Read Judg. xx. 10, to the end; Judah twice 
defeated when they went out to battle, having 



CHARLES STODDARD. 4H 

previously ashed and obtained counsel of the 
Lord. Now, I say to you, brother, and to all 
others, ' If thou faint in the day of adversity, 
thy strength is small.' As for me, I shall hope 
in the Lord, and in him only. No external or 
national events can hinder my entire trust and 
confidence in him. 'Though he slay me, yet 
will I trust in him/ And, for my country, I 
am hopeful, prevailingly. 

" We must walk by faith, and not by sight. 

" The religion of the Bible will stand if we are 
beaten and overthrown. It is not on such a 
narrow foundation. 

" God's purposes and plans will certainly be 
accomplished ; and we may as well fall in with 
them, and rejoice in them. 

" In regard to Christian hope, to which you 
allude, I perceive that you have not made prog- 
ress beyond the experience of the Apostle 
Paul, though blessed with more light, and in a 
later age of the church. 

"He found that, when he would do good, 
evil was present with him, and you find the 
same. His experience was, 'Without are fight- 
ings, within are fears.' Your experience is simi r 
lar. Now, I will not write, herein, an argument 
why you should go beyond the apostle in truly 



412 MEMORIALS OF 

Christian experience ; but I trust, at least, you 
will not lag behind. Meantime, I will ask you, 
brother, why you are made unhappy and de- 
spondent in your mind, by c a conseiou3 want 
of conformity with the will of God, so 
little of the spirit of the Master ? ' 

"Is it not the Spirit of God in your heart, 
that leads you to mourn as above ? The natural 
man has no such mourning. Again, you say you 
feel your 'need of a more simple, childlike trust 
in Christ, and a more hearty and entire conse- 
cration to his service.' Who made you feel so? 
Is not this plainly the work of the Spirit in 
your heart? And will he excite such desires 
in your heart, without gratifying the longings, 
and filling the desires ? Again, you ' loathe the 
company of the wicked, and love those who bear 
the image and possess the spirit of Christ.' 
But it was not always so. When did this 
change take place ? who caused it ? 

" My dear brother, give God the glory of what 
his grace has wrought in you, and trust in bim 
who hath begun a good work, to carry it on 
unto perfection. Like a little child, trustfully, 
joyfully, confidingly, commit your whole salva- 
tion into the Redeemer's hands, who is able to 
keep it until that day. And rejoice in the Lord 
always ; and again I say, Rejoice." 



CHARLES STODDARD. 413 

Extract from letter to the same brother : — 

" Boston, June 27, 1865. 

" The council adjourned near four o'clock, 
P.M., Saturday. It was divinely directed 
throughout. And there were several points of 
thrilling interest, — one to which you allude, 
when the reply was made to the English dele- 
gation; another, when the confession of faith 
was assented to, on the top of the hill at Plym- 
outh, where the Pilgrims lie buried. There 
was harmony throughout, and a high Christian 
spirit; and I think the happy influences will 
extend beyond our day, and beyond our coun- 
try. No fear for foreign missions. If they 
raise this seven hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars, as can easily be done, they will raise all 
wanted for the heathen world besides." 

The letters on political subjects were written 
to a brother away from the scenes of the war, 
but cherishing an undiminished love for his 
country in his heart. 

"Dear A., — There is no doubt about the 
objects of this war, so far as the North is con- 
cerned. They are understood by the great heart 
of the British nation, or at least the best part 
thereof. But the public acts of her Govern 

35* 



414 MEMORIALS OF 

ment, and the creed of some of her influential 
prints, is far from what she herself would like, 
or think just and fair, in a change of circum- 
stances, — her acts, in deciding and publishing 
that the privateers of the rebels should be 
regarded as those of belligerents, in hot haste, 
and before our minister could reach England to 
lay the matter clearly before her Majesty's Gov- 
ernment. The decision also to send three regi- 
ments to Canada is entirely uncalled for, and 
looks like dropping an anchor for a future con- 
tingency. The provinces of Canada will be as 
little affected by this conflict as England her- 
self, unless she declares war on us. 

" The sending of so many armed vessels to 
our Southern ports to watch the progress of 
events, and look after the blockade, seems to me 
a very questionable thing, and it will be very 
strange if it does not lead to collision between 
our ships of war and those of England, in the 
heat of controversies ; and it may not improba- 
bly involve us in a war with England. Many 
think the British Government has this contin- 
gency in view. Else why send a fleet into our 
waters ? If she will keep away, then her decla- 
ration of entire neutrality would be better 
credited. If the instructions to her fleet are 



CHARLES STODDARD. 415 

such as I have heard, then the effectiveness of 
our Southern blockade is to be decided by her 
naval officers ; and if they think it not effective, 
then they are to break it. Of course, this will 
give aid and comfort to those who have risen up 
against us. 

" Now, England should sympathize with and 
help the right, — her brethren of the United 
States. France abstained till she had received 
our new minister, and all her expressions cor- 
respond with her acts. I wish I could see 
England's acts correspond with her words, and, 
candid as you are, I am sure you will wish 
England acted differently. 

" The cause of the Government is progressing 
steadily, slowly, but surely, so far, with little 
bloodshed. I think the measures adopted 
eminently discreet; and sooner or later, the 
misguided aspirants of the so-called Southern 
Confederacy must be placed in a very awkward 
predicament." 

"My dear Brother A., — I have your let- 
ter of Nov. 8, and note that this is your 'last 
say on politics, unless something special seems 
to call for a fresh onset.' I doubt not but some- 
thing special will make such a call. I doubt 



416 MEMORIALS OF 

not you feel a deep interest in the matter, and 
that you strongly desire that the cause of good- 
government and civil liberty should triumph. 
You have given material aid to the loyal por- 
tion of the country. Possibly you may, at 
such a distance, be in danger of too dark and 
discouraging a view of our progress. Perhaps 
you have means of knowledge respecting the. 
character of our President and his Cabinet, not 
open to me. I infer this only from the dis- 
crepancy of our views. But I rest contented 
in the belief that time will rectify errors in 
judgment, and perhaps modify hastily formed 
opinions. Certainly all the North continue 
united and resolute. We are making sacrifices 
and efforts difficult to be appreciated. Every 
woman in the North is knitting or sewing for 
the soldiers. Government furnishes clothes 
and food liberally ; but still there are many 
cases, in so vast an army, that cannot be reached 
by the regular routine of the authorities, and 
these are calling for larger contributions and 
sacrifices. Indeed, I may say that our calls 
and contributions have been daily for the past 
six months, and I see no indication of being 
tired on the part of our people. 

"The sacrifices in families giving their best 



CHARLES STODDARD. 417 

and choicest sous for the defence of the coun- 
try cannot be better illustrated than in the 

case of Col. B . If ever a man went forth 

in the fear of God, with an unselfish desire to 
serve his country, he so went. Hundreds, if 
not thousands of dollars, he spent in getting 
his regiment ready to be accepted by the Gov- 
ernment, and ever since he has cared for them, as 
the father of a family of a thousand. Govern- 
ment pays, and pays well ; but the food and lodg- 
ing of several hundred men, in process of form- 
ing, at the beginning of the war, could only be 

borne by private funds. Col. B has found 

many hearty sympathizing friends, who have 
written words of cheer and encouragement, 
and sent in abundant materials, stores, and 
even delicacies for him and his officers and 
men; and these, in their circumstances, are 
very highly appreciated. Considerable sums of 
money have also been tendered for his use in 
the various needs of his command. 

"December, 1861. 

"My dear Brother A., — I am in receipt 
of your letter of 13th December, and notice its 
subdued and gentle spirit ; also your liberal 
offer to put into my hands means to aid in the 
war. I will forward any sums for this great 



418 MEMORIALS OF 

cause, and I will not abuse your generosity. I 
know you are a true man, loyal to your own 
country, and as desirous as any of us- to put 
down this Rebellion. But you find much fault, 
which is natural. Let me repeat that we have 
a most able government, including the President 
and his Cabinet. We have rarely, if ever, had as 
able a body of men since the days of Washing- 
ton. They command the universal approbation 
of the loyal States, and stand very strong. 

" If it had been decided that we could not 
honorably yield to the demands of England, in 
relation to Mason and Slidell, the people would 
have been as one man in sustaining the Govern- 
ment in a war with England. Now there is a 
quiet and noiseless and universal acquiescence in 
the result of Mr. Seward's despatch, which I 
send you with this. No pressure of ' mob,' no 
outward pressure of any kind. Our public 
national men hold office four years, and they 
cannot be put out, except by impeachment ; no 
clamor can move them. But, in England, the 
loss of a single vote in parliament breaks up 
the Government. Which country is ruled by 
the mob? The English papers and statesmen 
have betrayed, in this 4 Trent ' affair, what we 
on this side have from the beginning seen, but 



CHARLES STODDARD. 419 

you have not seen, and thought did not exist, — 
a sympathy with the South, and a desire to see 
them succeed. This is now patent to every 
one. Will the Queen, of her own will, remove 
the consul at Havana for violating her procla- 
mation of neutrality? If England continues 
to drift on in hostility to the United States, it 
will not be long before some pretext is found 
for war. But here there is no wish or desire 
for this. This must be apparent, when the 
president's message, and the documents about 
4 The Trent,' are received with you. Nobody here 
wishes any thing but peace with England ; but 
we are deeply hurt by her hot haste, after a one- 
sided statement, to resort to extreme measures 
with our country. . . . 

" Is there no such thing as patriotism, devo- 
tion to one's country in peril ? 

" In the Revolutionary war, America had a 
Lafayette, yes, and a Washington; who were 
never richer for their services, but went to war 
at their own charges. And many such exam- 
ples history has furnished of heroic self-devo- 
tion to country or. to liberty, but few or none 
more illustrious than those above named. And, 
in the present struggle in our land, there 
doubtless are c Christian patriots,' in the highest 



420 MEMORIALS OF 

sense, and perhaps many such, but they are 
not yet developed, so as to be visible to the 
naked eye. You speak of five months' time 
spent by ' an army not having gained an inch 
of ground, but, if any thing, having lost : ' our 
'armies held in check at every point by the 
Confederates ; the latter even threatening the 
capital.' This is one way of putting the thing. 
Another way is this : Then we had not Mary- 
land. Our soldiers were attacked and insulted 
all the way from Havre de Grace to Wash- 
ington ; railroads torn up, and frightful calam- 
ities impending. Now every part of Maryland 
is held firmly; not a point open to secession 
efforts. Even Baltimore is held firmly, and 
the union and strength, which has ever been 
the majority there, fully developed. Kentucky 
has been saved for the Union, although there 
is still commotion there. At that time we had 
not a soldier in Virginia. JsTow the bulk of our 
army is in that State. All Western Virginia 
saved to order, loyalty, and union, and we are 
gradually making way into the interior of the 
eastern part. Then we had not a port blockaded. 

How is it now ? Col. B has been at Hat- 

teras on the North Carolina coast with his regi- 
ment, holding firmly that portion for the Union. 






CHARLES STODDARD. 421 

" And what have the rebels gained ? Are they 
not held in check at every point, unable to cross 
the Potomac anywhere, and now actually with- 
drawing to the interior? They were bound 
long since to take Washington, and advance on 
Philadelphia. Have they done it ? Have they 
put a foot on free soil, in all the land ? Are 
they not completely foiled so far ? 

" The future is to us all unknown. God is a 
sovereign ; we are a nation of sinners, Northern 
sinners, grievous sinners in his sight. We do 
not deserve his clemency. If he spare us as a 
nation, it will not be for our righteousness, but 
on account of his mercy. Yet I do not think 
he will destroy this great people. He may 
scourge and try us. We may again be defeated 
in battle. We may be more humbled than we 
have yet been. But my hope is in God. Yet, 
if he slay us, I will put my trust in him. I 
know that he is righteous, and I know we have 
deserved all he has sent, and far more. 

" I am not a prophet, and know not what will 
be. But I am cheerful, and hopeful of the future. 
Not because we are stronger than our oppo- 
nents, but because I am of opinion that the 
Lord has other designs and purposes in connec- 
tion with this Christian nation, which are incon- 



422 MEMORIALS OF 

sistent with its overthrow, or subjection to 
slavery. One word in regard to slavery. Sup 
pose Government should to-day issue a procla- 
mation declaring every slave in the land free. 
What would it amount to ? Nothing at all jet, 
except to exasperate the Union sentiment exist- 
ing at the South. 

44 Government has not control of the slaves. 
The country where they principally are, is yet 
to be overcome. Until it can enforce a procla- 
mation of that kind, it better not be issued. 
My impression is, that slavery is doomed ; that 
in some way it will come to an end in this land, 
as a result of this conflict ; perhaps (and the 
' thing is by no means impossible) by the aid of 
the slaveholders themselves, when they are 
sorely pressed and threatened with internal and 
external foes. At any rate, my confidence is in 
God. In Him, not in an arm of flesh, I trust. 
In Him I place my confidence. For the rest, 
1 ye have need of patience.' " 

1865. 

44 My dear Brother, — Your pleasant letter 
of March 25 was received the 8th inst., also 

the paper and pamphlet of Mr. . This I 

have read. It is very well gotten up, and 
popular in style, and you have gone into it 



CHARLES STODDARD. 423 

bravely, and I trust will have good success 
in collecting funds. I should not wonder if 
you had a very large response in money. I 
admire your enterprise and energy in this noble 
cause. Here we are having stirring times. One 
week since, I sent you accounts of the defeat 
of Lee by Grant, and the capture of Richmond 
and Petersburg. And now I send the surren- 
der of Lee and his whole army to Grant, 
which virtually ends the Rebellion. Sherman 
will take care of Johnson and his army, and no 
other will be raised, and the war will end. In 
our public exchange news-room yesterday morn- 
ing, was inscribed in large capitals over the 
books, ' Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, good-will toward men.' A crowd 
of subscribers and merchants gathered there ; a 
prayer of thanksgiving was made, and the 
words, — 

' Praise God from whom all blessings flow,' — 

sung to the tune of Old Hundred. Later in the 
tday the Old South Church was opened and filled 
to overflowing with a devout assembly, who 
listened two hours to prayers, praises, and ad- 
dresses full of recognition of God as the Author 
of our victories, and of patriotic fervor. Not a 



424 MEMORIALS OF 

word of unkindness toward the rebels ; nor is 
any bitter feeling witnessed. We hear noth- 
ing of it. The Lord's hand is in this work, and 
praised be his name ! 

" Your affectionate brother, 

" Charles Stoddard." 

44 My dear Daughter, — Last evening I 
received from you an elegant, elongated and 
brilliantly worked footstool. It reminds one 
of many a careful stitch, taken often with a 
consciousness of bodily weakness. It is the 
sum of the patient toil of one well beloved. 
As such I accept it with much pleasure. It 
points to a warm hearth and the pleasures of a 
wood-fire in the cold season. 

44 It reminds me to say that the ever-blessed 
Lord our God, condescends to have a footstool 
of larger size and more substantial build, than 
this tiny one which you have made. 

44 ' Heaven is my throne, and earth is my foot- 
stool' (Isa. lxvi. ; Matt. v. 35). Of one day, 
it is said, he ' is expecting till his enemies be 
made his footstool' (Heb. x. 13). This is even 
said of our divine Lord, in accomplishing the 
work of human redemption. 

44 4 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at 



CHARLES STODDARD. 425 

my right hand until I make thine enemies thy 
footstool ' ( Ps. ex.). 

" That is, as I understand it, Christ shall sit 
at his Father's right hand, clothed with all 
power in heaven and on earth, until the work 
of redemption is finally completed, and the last 
of his chosen are gathered into his fold. Those 
that remain, who have rejected his salvation, 
and are counted his foes, shall also be counted 
his footstool. May you, and your husband and 
children, and all our dear family, be present on 
that great occasion, when our Immanuel shall 
be crowned ! I mean this present of yours shall 
remind me of the certain triumph of the gospel, 
and the certain glory of our King," 

36* 



XVIII. 

PATRIOTISM, MORAL COURAGE. 

18634865. 

MY father's letters are so multiplied during 
the later years of his life that other words 
are needless. Indeed, those who longed to be 
with him, grudged the time spent by him with 
pen in hand, and were inclined to fear lest he 
would overtask himself by so much writing. 

The personal charm of his influence at home 
refuses to take form in description. His pres- 
ence ever seemed a benediction, and left holy 
memories after it was gone. 
The following is to his son : — 

"January 1, 1863. 

" My dear Son, — I duly received your let- 
ter of the 6th December, and since have heard of 

your movements through M , and hope your 

personal solicitations for aid for your church 
may be successful. It is to many persons, and 
probably to you, an irksome duty to solicit 
money even for a good object. It would be 

426 



CHARLES STODDARD. 427 

more agreeable to human nature to give at each 
call, than to ask others to give. Yet in this 
work, where even good men are so backward to 
lay their property at the Saviour's feet, and to 
ask respecting that, ' Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do ? ' it will be a duty you may probably 
be often called on to perform. Now, when you 
go out, you of course need to be fortified with 
a strong conviction of the excellence and impor- 
tance of the object you have to present. This 
will give you confidence and self-respect, very 
needful in the prosecution of your enterprise. 
In addition to this, and that you may make the 
happiest impression on others, you need what 
few possess in large degree, and which, I think, 
is described in Latin as ' suaviter in modo ; ' in 
the Bible, under these terms, ' Be courteous ; ' 
— a certain, winning, pleasing, persuasive mode 
of approaching men, which, in case of differ- 
ence, will assume a priori that you^ not he, 
are in the wrong. A man is disarmed if he 
hears you ' beg his pardon; ' and a certain degree 
of respect is due, and may safely be awarded to 
every man we have occasion to converse with, 
without our being chargeable with flattery in so 
doing. If you have in earnest prayer commit- 
ted the visit you are about to make to God, 



428 MEMORIALS OF 

asking him so to influence the mind and heart 
of him to whom you are about to apply, as he 
shall see best for the glory of his name, and 
the good of his cause, and the best interests of 
the object you adv cate ; and if you evince, in 
going, the desire that God's will should control 
in the result of the visit, — I think it will be 
presented with much inward peace and satisfac- 
tion, if not with great outward success. 

" I am interested, as is your mother, in the 
description you give of your Christmas Sunday- 
school celebration, presentation, &c. So it 
seems you were ' watered ' with a fine inkstand 
while you were watering others. I think these 
unexpected gifts are peculiary agreeable. What 
could a minister do without an inkstand ? 

" I hope the progress of the year will develop 
a spiritual interest among your people, and that, 
while you are laboring for the removal of the 
burden of debt from the parish, the Holy Spirit 
may remove the burden of sin from many a 
heart in your congregation." 

"June 29, 1863. 

a I note all your reflections on the past 
year, in connection with my birthday. 

" Your remarks upon your father, and his 
supposed goodness, make me feel most sensibly 



CHARLES STODDARD. 429 

my imperfections and unworthiness. ' I have 
no goodness, and as a poor sinner, depend 
simply upon the atonement of Christ for par- 
don and acceptance with God. I have indeed, 
a cheerful hope that he has pardoned and 
accepted me, and I desire 4 to live not to 
myself, but to him who died for me, and rose 
again.' 

"You are aware that I had very limited 
school advantages, ending at thirteen, and that 
what I have gained of knowledge has been by 
improving time I could save from labor to 
study and read. My early profession of reli- 
gion, and constant study of the Scriptures with 
a view of teaching Bible-classes, for more than 
forty years past, has doubtless had a good 
influence in quickening and improving my 
intellect, and I hope my heart too. But what 
influence I have been enabled to exert in the 
past and in the present, I consider very much 
owing to my uniform course, never changing 
my business, never failing in it, always to be 
found in my place ; and, gradually, there grows 
up a feeling of reliance and dependence on 
such an one. 

" It is my duty and my pleasure to aid you, 
as I am able, by my counsel. 



430 MEMORIALS OF 

"I do indeed rejoice in the work in which 
you are engaged, so far as I see on your part 
fidelity and devotion in it. Were you in a 
secular business, scrambling for wealth, you 
might indeed attain it; but you might be 
pierced through with many sorrows. There- 
fore, having food and raiment, and a clean 
conscience, and good health, I hope you will be 
content. I look forward to a long and useful 
life for you, growing brighter and brighter as 
years advance, till you reach ' the measure of 
the stature of a perfect person in Christ Jesus, 
our Lord.' 

" Your affectionate father, 

"Charles Stoddard." 

A letter follows written to a daughter-in-law, 
interested in procuring a church organ : — 

"My dear Daughter, — Your little. note 
received yesterday sent a vibration through our 
hearts, as from the pipes of an organ ; and my 
wife wishes to do no less than pipe to you one, 
while I add two. I hope the notes will be har- 
monious, and with other sweet melodies, swell 
into a full-toned instrument. 'Tis a good idea 
to own it yourselves, and place it in the church 
as your property, loaned to the congregation. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 431 

" We shall be glad to hear that the full sum 
is made up, and the matter fully accomplished. 
Are you to play it? If you fill the church 

with its loud-swelling sounds, and C lifts 

the finances into a prosperous state, and the 
Lord is pleased to lift the light of his counte- 
nance upon you, and give you peace, and a 
revival of his work, it will be to you a year of 
prosperity indeed." 

"My dear Son, — My thoughts for a few 
days have been occupied with reflections in 
connection with this anniversary of your birth, 
which will have arrived, probably, about the 
time this is received. 

"I recur to the past, and remember that, 
when I became thirty, I was still a single man, 
though under an engagement of marriage to 
your excellent mother, which shortly after was 
consummated, and this union has been to me 
a perennial fountain of happiness in all the 
years that have since run their rounds. The 
very day that you first saw the light, I well 
remember on my knees thanking God for the 
precious gift and at the same time, consecrat- 
ing you to him and his service. Then and 
there I tried to pledge myself to ' train you up 



432 MEMORIALS OF 

in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,' 
and to seek first, for you and for myself, the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness. With 
'much imperfection in my example and my 
efforts, I feel conscious that such was my desire 
and purpose ever after. 

" God blessed the efforts of your parents 
even beyond our highest expectation. Anxiety 
and solicitudes we have had, during your prog- 
ress through the slippery path of childhood and 
youth ; but you can say, — 

* Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe, 
And led me up to man.' 

" To a person who has had the advantages of 
culture and of training which you have en- 
joyed, this age should be 4 a season of the 
gathering of the first fruits ; ' that is, your in- 
tellectual powers developed and somewhat 
trained, should bring out of the treasury of the 
Scriptures those things which are profitable and 
to the edifying of the Church, which is Christ's 
body. And so I think you do minister grace to 
the hearers. 

" A larger and fuller experience, such as will 
surely come as you advance, will doubtless ena- 
ble you to attain a higher standard of excel- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 433 

lence, both in the manner of forcibly presenting 
divine truth, and commending it to every man's 
conscience in the sight of God. And I look, 
too, for that personal experience of the fulness 
and excellency of Christ as a complete Saviour, 
and that oneness with him by faith, on your 
part, which shall give you great power in pre- 
( senting him to your people as ' the chief among 
ten thousand and altogether lovely,' and enable 
you to influence them to love him too. As to 
health, I trust this anniversary finds you in a 
sound condition. For myself, my freedom from 
all inflammatory tendencies, headaches, and 
other kindred evils, I attribute, very much, to 
my entire abstinence from wine or other stimu- 
lating drinks from early youth to the present 
time. You know that I began, when a boy, 
to set my face like a flint against the use of 
wine or any kind of spirits, either as a bev- 
erage or a medicine. This was long before 
any temperance societies were formed. 

" I do not think, as a boy or young man, I 
ever took a drink of spirits and water, brandy 
and water, or wine. At one time I had, by 
overwork and irregular hours for meals, an at- 
tack of dyspepsia, and a glass of port wine 
with an egg beat up, was prescribed for a sea- 
37 



434 MEMORIALS OF 

son, by a physician. With this exception, I 
was ever a total-abstinence man, belonging to 
no temperance society, but from full convic- 
tion and determination a drinker of cold water 
only. Till forty-five I never used coffee, and 
but little tea. Since then, I have used one 
cup of coffee in the morning. I mention these 
things more in detail, because I have, somehow 
a conviction that the headaches, the inflamma- 
tions, the rheumatisms, the gout, with which so 
many are afflicted in later life, grow out of the 
moderate use of stimulants. The system be- 
comes more or less charged with inflammatory 
tendencies, and when an exciting cause occurs, 
they at once accelerate and aggravate the evil, 
so that I feel in my own mind, a conviction, 
that those who use, however temperately, stim- 
ulating drinks, will sooner or later pay the 
penalty therefor, in many ills which flesh is 
heir to, but which would not otherwise develop 
themselves in the system. I doubt not you 
will endeavor by a regular, abstemious, and 
careful way of living, to lay up a stock of 
health and vigor for later life, should you be 
spared, as I hope the Lord may spare you, for 
long service to his church. My present age is 
something more than twice yours, as next month 



CHARLES STODDARD. 435 

I complete my sixtieth year. I feel vigorous 
and able to work, though not in the same 
work, nor to the same degree, as formerly. Yet 
I have no idea of giving up, nor relaxing my 
efforts while I have health and strength remain- 
ing, and while sin is not wholly banished from 
the world. 

" Perhaps this year you may let, or lease, ten 
pews or more. Whenever the final lift is to be 
made, and the year of jubilee in your church 
proclaimed, if I am alive, I shall be glad to aid 
in laying the top-stone of your temple." 

"My dear Brother A., — Your letter of 
29th April reached me 12th inst. You are 
overcome, and unfitted for your usual business, 
by reason of the awful murder of Pres. Lin- 
coln. Your letter shows your deep emotion 
and sorrow. So do all the proceedings of Par- 
liament and public bodies in England. This 
universal mourning shows how great and 
good a man has fallen by the hand of treason. 
The Lord's hand is marked in this, as in all 
other dealings of his Providence with our na- 
tion. It is marvellous in our eyes. We have 
peace from one end of the land to the other ; 
all the armies of the aliens have surrendered 



436 MEMORIALS OF 

(unless there be one the other side of the Mis- 
sissippi) ; and the principal rebels are arrested, 
including Jefferson Davis and his staff. 

" The loans authorized by Congress are nearly- 
all taken ; thirty millions of dollars being sub- 
scribed for in one day, and ninety-two millions 
last week. In a short time, all our army and 
navy will be paid up, and as rapidly as is 
prudent, put upon a peace footing. Indeed 
the reduction of the public expenses has already 
been very great. The income-tax brings in a 
large amount, and it is cheerfully paid. Gold 
has fallen to twenty-eight per cent premium, 
and indications are that it will not be long 
ere specie payments are resumed. A demand 
is making for merchandise, and every branch 
of industry (except those for the supply of 
the wants of our army and navy) seems to 
revive. There promises to be much activ- 
ity in business in the autumn. We received 
with much interest the account you sent 

of your celebration at B , in honor of 

the downfall of the Rebellion, and honor your 
patriotism and constancy in a good cause. 

Mr. L says to me often, 'You have had 

full confidence in the Government and their 
securities from the beginning, and lent them 



CHARLES STODDARD. 437 

freely, and spoken in support of their credit in 
the darkest hour ; ' all of which is true. I 
have not sold a dollar of the securities I hold 
for you, and in due time you will receive princi- 
pal and interest in gold, besides all the premium 
on the gold paid from time to time for interest. 
What an opportunity was offered Mr. John 
Bull to send here and get our securities at forty 
and forty-five, which he failed to improve, and 
lost the golden harvest ! Now he must pay par 
or premium, and apply soon, or he can't have 
any." 

"April, 1865. 

"My dear Brother, — This week the grand 
review of our national army, two hundred thou- 
sand men, takes place at Washington, and 
after that, the larger part are to be honorably 
dismissed to return to their homes, every soldier 
with his full payment of wages in his pocket, 
and the money in the treasury not exhausted ; 
quietness and peace reign over all the land, this 
side of the Mississippi River, and all the south- 
ern ports will open again to the commerce of 
the world after July 1.' We may well look 
up with gratitude to God for the wonders he 
hath wrought, and ascribe to him all the glory. 
In a part of a letter from Brother J. he says, 
37* 



438 CHARLES STODDARD. 

1 God carries out his plans often in entire 
disregard of what we conceive to be the right 
way. We may labor with many prayers to build 
a house (or a confederacy); but, except the 
Lord build the house, they labor in vain that 
build it.' The universal sympathy for our great 
loss expressed in high places and in low places, 
in Great Britain and on the Continent, is grate- 
ful to our people, and will be most happy in its 
influence in softening and refining the inter- 
course of the future. Our Government never 
was so strong as now. It can afford to be 
magnanimous. There is a determination which 
cannot be turned aside, that all the problem 
of reconstruction shall be settled rightly. My 
idea is, that each Southern State will be required 
to pass the amendment to the Constitution, 
abolishing slavery, that is, abolish all laws incon- 
sistent, and give the negro the right of suffrage, 
as a condition to their return to their status." 



XIX. 

FRUITS OP THE SPIRIT BORNE IN 
HIS LIFE. 



A : 



18654869. 

DD to godliness, brotherly kindness, and, 
to brotherly kindness, charity." 

" Love, or thou livest not : life is more 
Than counts by pulses ; make thy gain 
Thy brother's welfare : so thy store 
Shall prosper, nor thy work be vain. 

" Walk where thy Master bids thee : shun 
No rough path, or deserved rod ; 
Right up the sunbeam seek the sun : 
God's light must lead to God." 

One of the daughters^ of my father, and her 
husband, were absent on a journey for health, 
in Europe. In a letter written to them, he 
mentions the telegraph, saying, — 

" What a wonderful success is this Atlantic 
telegraph ! By this same telegraph we hear that 

439 



440 MEMORIALS OF 

the yacht owned by Mr. T. G. A., 'Alice,' 

Capt. A C , arrived at the Isle of 

Wight, from Nahant, after nineteen days voyage. 
She is a very small craft of thirty tons, and it 
shows skill and bravery to navigate such a 
little vessel over the seas. It is said that 
Columbus discovered the New World with a 
craft of fifty tons burthen. 

" Your letters come with regularity, and are 
a great comfort to us. I trust you have the 
daily presence of the Comforter. God is not 
confined to time or place. 

"Our Lord said to the woman of Samaria, 
4 The time cometh, when neither in this moun- 
tain nor yet at Jerusalem, shall men worship 
the Father. God is a Spirit; and they that 
worship him must worship him in spirit and in 
truth." 

The following: letter to his brother A 



was on a subject that had deeply interested Mr. 
Stoddard. It was the case of the young man 
who had been sent over to this country from 
Europe, seemingly devoted to his own ruin. 
And as the finding of the one sheep that went 
astray caused more joy than all those which 
were in the fold, so the exertions made in this 



-CHARLES STODDARD. 441 

case rendered the final success more joyful. 
This incident, however, was known to scarcely 
more than a single person, during all the time 
that it was an object of his unwearied attention 
and prayer. 

"My dear Brother A., — I yesterday re- 
ceived your lines. The interesting statement 

you give of the great change in J , 

proved to be genuine by his subsequent con- 
versation and life, calls up to my remembrance 
many tender recollections which have lain dor- 
mant in my memory, — how I met him on the 
pier where was the sailing ship that brought 
him to these shores, and took him to our 
house ; the correspondence which resulted in 
finding him a situation with a pious man in 
the wilds of Maine where he staid a year, 
and conducted himself as a strictly temperate 
man; his subsequent falls and recoveries; his 
residence at Northampton and at the West ; the 
prayers and tears and efforts of my wife and 
other friends ; his disappointment of all our 
hopes; and his final departure for England; 
his being met, as you say he was, far away 
from the means of grace, and brought to re- 
pentance, — all illustrates the wonder-working 



442 MEMORIALS OF 

providence of God, and should encourage us 
always to be hopeful, and never despairing of 
poor sinners. Our heavenly Father has far 
more patience than we. It is by his patience 
and forbearance with us, that we are not already 
beyond the reach of hope. How should we 
labor to reclaim the fallen, and bring back the 
wandering to the Father's bosom! How should 
we be instant in season and out of season, in 
filling the minds of the young with pure and 
holy principles, and by example and precept, 
do all in our power to train them for glory and 
for heaven ! 

" Let us, dear brother, strive daily to realize 
our own frailty, and turn our mind often to 
the contemplation of the great truths revealed 
in the Scriptures respecting our own prepara- 
tion to see and enjoy God. Should not our 
affection for heavenly things increase as we ad- 
vance toward the end of our pilgrimage ? Should 
we not cultivate a longing desire, daily ex- 
pressed in prayer, that the Holy Spirit, the 
Comforter, may abide with us as a constant 
guest, that we may have the communion and 
fellowship of the Holy Spirit ? I hope we may 
each make progress in the divine life." 






CHARLES STODDARD. 443 

"My dear Brother A., — Your letter of 
2d inst. reached me on the 14th. I note your 
earnest argument for free trade. I am ready to go 
with you as fast as our circumstance* will allow. 
We must have sufficient income from imports, 
to pay the annual interest on the debt in gold. 
Beyond this we do not need to tax imports, and 
should gradually remove the duties, first on 
raw materials, and gradually reduce them on 
all articles. I hope you will be pleased with 
the platform of the Republican party, unani- 
mously adopted at Chicago. Especially are all 
forms of repudiation of the national debt pro- 
nounced a crime, and the full payment of prin- 
cipal and interest, according to the highest 
standard of upright public faith, is set forth as 
a cardinal doctrine in the canvass. So of equal- 
ity before the law, and equal suffrage for all ; 
so of other things. I cut out and send these 
resolutions, and think you will like them. I 
see England and British institutions are to be 
reviewed and scrutinized. It can hardly be 
prevented or hindered by the course of the 
prime minister. No doubt old institutions with 
you are to be shaken, but I trust that which is 
true and right may remain. We must, how- 
ever, personally rely on a treasure and a portion 



444 MEMORIALS OF 

above. The conscious life of faith is in an ever- 
present Redeemer, as our friend, our portion, 
and our hope; the conscious guidance and 
indwelling in our hearts of the Comforter, 
which is the Holy Spirit, leads us to the knowl- 
edge and practice of holy living." 

"My dear, Brother A., — I see by your 
letter, and by the printed accounts you have 
kindly sent, that you have had an opportunity 
to show hospitality to that indefatigable friend 
of the slave, William L. Garrison, and to be 
present and witness honors paid to him by pub- 
lic bodies. I have witnessed his course since 
he finished his studies. At first he took up the 
Colonization Society, and I heard him advocate 
its claims to a crowded audience, on the Fourth 
of July, in Park-street Church. I remember 
standing during the address, which was eloquent 
for a young man. It was not many years before 
he found the Colonization Society a hinderance 
and an obstacle to his cherished purpose, the 
freedom of the slave. 

" Then he abandoned it and became its 
enemy ; for he was no half-way man. The 
period of persecution and defamation he went 
through subsequently is all fresh in my mind. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 445 

One Fourth of July, after attempting in vain to 
get a place in which to speak, a hayloft over a 
stable behind the Marlboro' Hotel, Washington 
Street, was obtained. There were no seats, and 
the rickety staircase was outside the building. 
Nevertheless there was an assembly, and I was 
one. The hay was scattered about, and the 
day was hot. # Mr. Garrison looked about, and 
began his address with these words. " My 
friends, you will all agree with me that our 
cause to-day is on a stable foundation" This 
put them in good humor, and he went on. I 
have often listened to him, and admired his 
fearless eloquence, but not his denunciations 
which came later. My longing for love among 
men, for peace in all hearts, grows daily. Let 
this ever interest us more than any thing else." 

Dr. Anderson, so long and widely known for 
his intelligent devotion to the cause of missions, 
for his study and writings on the subject, as 
well as untiring labor, was ever an esteemed 
friend of my father. They were associated in 
conducting the affairs of the society for this 
object, from 1832 till the time of Mr. Stod- 
dard's death. His words of affectionate appre- 
ciation cannot fail to be read with interest. 



446 MEMORIALS OF 

The letter which, follows, written in the midst 
of pressing literary work, shows that he did 
not undervalue his long-time helper in this 
cause. He also enclosed one of my father's 
letters to him, which I give in full. 

" Cedar Square, Boston Highlands, 
Oct. 19, 1874. 
" Mrs. Mary S. Johnson, 7 Commonwealth Avenue. 

" Dear Madam, — My time has been much 
absorbed by my History of the Missions of the 
Board, which was completed only in the last 
month, and I have thus been delayed in send- 
ing this to you. 

" I knew Mr. Stoddard intimately for a long 
course of years, but our official duties and 
other causes brought us so often together, that 
I scarcely remember an occasion for epistolary 
correspondence. I send you the only letters I 
find from him, — one of them written from 
Northampton on my birthday, Aug. 17, 1866, 
containing suggestions of great importance to 
me. This I will thank you to preserve. 

" Mr. Stoddard was a fine illustration of the 
value of character. He was comparatively 
young to be brought into the Prudential Com- 
mittee forty-two years ago ; and I well remem- 
ber the discussion by such men as Judge Hub- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 447 

bard, Dr. Wisner, and Gov. Armstrong, pre- 
vious to his election. But I never afterwards 
heard a doubt expressed as to the wisdom of 
the choice, and his hold upon the public confi- 
dence gained to the last. The cases before that 
body are often important, and sometimes per- 
plexing. Mr. Stoddard was accustomed to 
make such cases a study, and to do his part 
to have them decided correctly. He seemed to 
me to be right in his opinions. He was made 
chairman of the Committee, with entire unanim- 
ity, in 1859, and held that office till his decease. 
" I hope to live long enough to see a good 
memorial of my friend and brother, and am, 
dear madam, with great respect, 

" As ever, very truly yours, 

" R. Anderson. 

"P. S. — Concerning Mr. Stoddard's letter 
of Aug. 17, I would say, — 

" 1. The lectures he recommended, and just 
such lectures, were written, and delivered in 
six theological seminaries, and published in one 
volume. 

" 2. The ' History of Missions ' recommended 
by him, and just such a history, was written, and 
published in four volumes. 



448 MEMORIALS OF 

" 3. The kind and sustaining influence of 
the wife, of which he speaks, I enjoyed 
throughout, and, though I do not think she 
wrote a sentence for me, the influence was 
essential to my success." 

"August 17, 1806. 

" My dear Dr. Andersok, — Permit me 
on this seventieth anniversary of your birth 
to tender to you my cordial Christian congratu- 
lations, that in the good providence of God, 
your life has been lengthened out, and you per- 
mitted to see this day. I feel this the more, as 
doubtless you do, from the dangerous sickness 
through which you have recently passed. 

" And now, with returning health and vigor, 
I trust you will gird up the loins of your mind 
and address yourself to new duties of great im- 
portance to the cause of Christ and the cause 
of missions, which you only, are fully qualified 
to perform. I refer to a proposed series of lec- 
tures on foreign missions, prepared with a view 
to delivery in all our theological seminaries, and 
perhaps some of our colleges; and also a his- 
tory of American missions ; in which should be 
put on record, in a permanent form, the great 
underlying principles which have been evolved 
by long and painful experience on your part. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 449 

" If your heavenly Father, in his infinite 
wisdom and goodness, should spare your life 
and your mental vigor for the full accomplish- 
ment of these two objects, then I should think 
you might truly be said ' to bring forth fruit in 
old age.' 

" And why may we not hope for such life 
prolonged ? 

" Are you not ten years younger now than 
Moses was, w^hen by the call of God, he went 
to lead the chosen people out of Egyptian bond- 
age? Forty years afterwards we read of this 
same Moses, 4 His eye was not dim, nor his 
natural force abated.' In our own day, Hon. 
Josiah Quincy completed two elaborate works 
after he had passed his eightieth birthday. 
With your cheerful temperament and Christian 
hope, and with the gentle and constant atten- 
tions of your beloved companion, whom God 
has graciously spared to you, may we not hope 
(I do hope) for many years of usefulness and 
enjoyment in your chosen work? I hope you 
will occupy a room at the Missionary House as 
long as you live ; and that you will always be 
present at the committee room, when health will 
permit, to give us the benefit of your wise 
counsels and long experience. 

38* 



450 MEMORIALS OF 

" Mrs. S unites with me in all that I 

have said of any value, and desires, her warm 
congratulations to you and also to dear Mrs, 
A . 

" I am, my dear sir, your friend and fellow- 
worker, C. Stoddard." 

The years, as they passed, were ripening the 
fruit of holiness in my father's life, in a manner 
noticeable to all his friends. He prepared his 
trust accounts for concluding settlement. His 
treasurership in the Old South Church he had 
resigned, not from weariness or lack of interest, 
but with a view to a more contemplative home- 
life, a life he strongly loved, and at periods 
yearned for. He did not express any longings to 
quit this world, but his thoughts and plans more 
than ever centred in the heaven to which he 
was looking forward. When he conversed on 
these themes, as he loved sometimes to do, it 
was with enthusiastic and almost triumphant 
joy. His eye would glow, and the pain which 
would thrill the heart of the listener, thinking 
he felt his call might not be long delayed, was 
lost in a sympathetic throb of delight at the 
anticipated blessedness. 

Still the " daily round, the common task," 



CHARLES STODDARD. 451 

was filled as ever with cheerful alacrity ; the 
tender words to the young, over whom he felt 
he might exert an influence, were more ear- 
nest, if possible, than before. But the calm few 
years, that he had expected, he did not find. 
He was needed, and his post was not to be 
vacated till his Captain called him from service. 
All the difficult questions with regard to the 
use of the property of the Old South Church 
came up in these last years of his life. The 
members of this spiritual body, with which he 
had been associated for fifty years, were going 
through a trying ordeal; wide differences of 
opinion showing themselves, w/iich needed 
judgment, wisdom, and Christian courtesy to 
reconcile. The details of all this are sufficiently 
known ; but certainty, had it not been for his un- 
failing Friend upon whom he could roll all such 
burdens, he would have had a weary time in the 
conflict of opinions which these questions called 
forth. On all matters of this sort he waited 
for the providence of God, keeping his mind 
ever open to the indications of the divine will. 
Meantime he prepared other minds for such 
steps as seemed wise ; and so, without seeming 
to lead, exerted a weighty influence. This trait 
of his has been generally appreciated, and 



452 MEMORIALS OF 

spoken of before. Perhaps it was more con- 
spicuous in him as he grew older, but all 
who knew him well can testify to its promi- 
nence. 

" My dear Niece S., — Your letter reached 
me just as I was seated in the car for a short 
journey. As I read it, and noticed the dis- 
turbed condition of your mind, and the doubts 
you had who were right, Catholics or Protes- 
tants, Unitarians or evangelical Christians, some 
passages of Scripture came into my mind, 
which I will quote. John xxi. 22, 'What is 
that to thee ? Follow thou Me.' The question, 
whether Miss M. is right or wrong, is for her 
to settle, not you. You are to follow Christ 
yourself; he is every thing to you, or he is 
nothing. Make him your personal Saviour. 
Again, the test of 1 Corinthians xiii. 1-3 : per- 
fect knowledge, faith to work miracles, abound- 
ing in good works and deeds of charity, or 
willingness to suffer martyrdom, — neither of 
these, nor all combined, are any thing worth 
in God's sight, where love, pure, glowing love, 
is wanting. 

"Nothing supplies the lack of personal, 
hearty love to the Lord Jesus Christ. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 453 

4 What think ye of Christ? is the test 

To try both your faith and your schemes: 
You cannot be right in the rest 
Unless you think rightly of him. ' 

Make him your chosen personal Saviour from 
sin, and his death the ground of your accept- 
ance with God. 

"Sincerity is no test of Christian character. 
Paul was sincere in persecuting the Christians, 
even unto death ; and he says, 4 1 verily thought 
I ought to do many things contrary to the 
name of Jesus of Nazareth.' 

" Yet for these very things he calls himself 
6 the chief of sinners.' A blameless life and 
sincerity of belief, never carried a sinner to 
heaven, unless he had something more. It is 
for us, as guilty, to flee to Christ, and truly and 
cordially accept his salvation, and in him lead 
a new life. 

" On my return from my journey, I found 
your letter awaiting me on Saturday evening. 
By r this I am most happy to know that you 
have found Christ as never before, and that 
you have great joy in the consciousness that 
Jesus has forgiven your sins. May you abide 
under his shadow, and may you daily go to 
him as a loving Redeemer ! Trust not in frames 



454 MEMORIALS OF 

or feelings, but in Christ, and be active to do his 
will. Watch and pray, pray and watch. You 
will meet with enemies and hinderances. Dif- 
ferent temptations will arise, but cling to the 
words of your Lord. What can be so refresh- 
ing to you as the words of your Redeemer ? 

"And now, my dear niece, I commend you 
to God and the word of his grace, which is 
able to keep you from falling, and to present 
you faultless before his presence with exceed- 
ing joy. To him be glory forever ! Amen." 

"My dear Brother A., — Your letter of 
7th was received on the 20th inst. You well 
remark that .' American travellers have yet to 
learn how' to enjoy life, for they make a toil of 
pleasure, and rush through life at railroad pace.' 
Yet you may call to mind that a certain dear 
friend and brother of ours, when last over here, 
was ever on the wing, and rarely at rest. The 
truth is, 'life is real, life is earnest,' and we 
have little time to lie upon our oars. Even 
Dr. P., on a years absence, could not find time 
to come out to visit you. So it is. We read 
and mark the gigantic movements in Continen- 
tal Europe with wonder, and remember that 
this year, 1866, is called the year of prophecy, 



CHARLES STODDARD: 455 

in which, according to the interpretations of 
Scripture of many eminent divines in past 
ages, there are predicted great changes in the 
status of Popery. We know that Almighty 
Power has determined to overturn and overturn 
among men, till He whose right it is to reign, 
shall be established on the throne of universal 
dominion. And with these stupendous pur- 
poses in the hand of Infinite Power, the people 
of God may well watch the unfolding of the 
providences which develop God's grand designs. 
I am ready for him to assume universal domin- 
ion ; and shall say, Amen ! if he hurl Satan 
from the throne of his usurped power. Nay, 
further, I should not mourn if the pope was 
chased away like a rolling thing before a 
whirlwind, and not be found aoy more at 
all. You see I am a man of progress. I 
think the chariot-wheels of Jehovah's provi- 
dence will crush those that attempt to hinder 
or thwart its progress, and that all those 
will be supremely blessed who cast in their 
lot with his people and plans. May such be 
our happy case ! I thank you for your remem- 
brance and honor of my natal day. It cer- 
tainly was a great compliment to me, and 
undeserved." 



456 MEMORIALS OF 

Here follow two or three brief letters to his 
grandchildren, indicating his happy ingenuity, 
as well as his habitual painstaking to interest 
and benefit them. 

"My dear Grandson, — I thank you for 
the drawing you sent me of a squirrel and his 
house, drawn by your own hand, and bordered 
with gold. It is a pretty squirrel and a pretty 
house. But after all, are you not glad you are 
something nobler than a squirrel? You can 
draw him, but he cannot draw you. You can 
thank the Lord, who is ever doing you good. 
You can talk with kind parents and friends. 
The squirrel cannot. He has a brief life, and 
then dies ; and that is the end of him. But 
your soul will live forever." 

"My dear Grandson, — I thank you for 
the present, so useful and good. It will daily 
remind me of my beloved grandson. May you 
have a happy Christmas to-day, and the joy and 
peace which come by doing well, all the year ! " 

"My dear Grandson, — On your fourth 
birthday I send you this little line, to tell you 
that grandpa thinks of you, and prays God to 
keep you from all evil, and to make you his 
child. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 457 

" I send you a willow basket, strong and 
good, with a cover. 

" When you carry peaches to a sick person, 
you will want the cover on. When you pick 
up shells and pebbles on the beach at N., you 
will want the cover off." 

To F. W. : - 

"Deae Nephew, — I learn from your sis- 
ters, who have been our pleasant guests more 
or less the past year, that you are in Paris, 
spending a season with a view to improve 
yourself, and fit yourself for the responsibilities 
of business, which will be coming upon you one 
of these days. I recur to my feelings when 
I went from the roof of my parents, at the 
age of twelve, and wonder if the lonely and 
desolate feelings I then had more or less, are 
experienced by you. Your circumstances are 
different, for you have been from home be- 
fore, and you are older than I was. But 
you will have lonely hours in the great French 
metropolis ; and much depends on the manner 
in which your leisure is occupied. I trust you 
will have the strength of principle to resist the 
allurements of the city, and preserve yourself 
from all evil external contaminations. I do 

39 



458 MEMORIALS OF 

not doubt you have a faithful companion in the 
Sacred Word, which I hope you find pleasure in 
reading morning and evening, with prayer for 
divine direction and guidance. Then if you 
could devote some evening to religious meet- 
ings, or take on the sabbath a class in the 
Sabbath school, or engage in some way in ef- 
forts to do good, it would help to strengthen 
good resolutions, and confirm you in good ways. 
There used to be, and probably may be now, 
a very good Sunday school and Protestant 
preaching service, in both English and French, 
at about 180 Faubourg St. Honore, doubtless 
advertised weekly. And there is an American 
chapel also. The Sabbath must be regarded 
as unto the Lord, if we would guard our 
morals, or advance in what things are lovely 
and of good report. The season you will spend 
in France will speed swiftly away. I trust 
it will leave only pleasant remembrances, and 
a consciousness of time well improved, and 
the greatest of all interests not neglected. I 
often think of some pleasant walks I used to 
take with you at T. I shall be most happy 
to welcome you to Boston, whenever you can 
come, as would also your aunt." 



CHARLES STODDARD. 459 

To a niece of whom he was fond, he thus 
writes : — 

"My dear Niece F., — I am indebted to 
you for two pleasant letters, the last dated July 
5th, and received the 20th. You speak in each 
of your delightful summer weather, and by a 
few lines of later date, I perceive that the heat 
and sun have dried and parched England, and 
roasted the Londoners. I know not where it 
has not been hot this summer. The month of 
July was, with us, a 'heated term.' Even at 
Nahant, they had many scorching nights and 
burning days, with a glassy sea. You speak 
of the goodness of our heavenly Father in 
preserving your circle, a happy family. Why 
not, at some interval, pursue this theme, not- 
ing things down in order, as shown in per- 
sonal, social, and family blessings, branching 
out into public, national mercies, and by 
contrast with less favored nations and commu- 
nities, draw considerations for grateful praise ? 
Then, remember that all the blessings and 
mercies which make life desirable, come to 
us through the mission and work of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who crowns all his mercies to his 
people here with salvation and everlasting glory 



460 MEMORIALS OF 

in the world to come. And will not our grati- 
tude to him rise and swell and overflow, when 
we contemplate him as the unspeakable gift of 
the Son of God? Then comes the question, — 

' What shall I render to my God, 

For all his kindness shown ? 
My feet shall visit his abode, 
My voice address his throne.' 

The pleasure and happiness which flow from 
communion with a God of love, and the expres- 
sion of gratitude to him through Christ, is the 
highest, purest enjoyment on earth, and within 
our reach in the exercise of gratitude and love. 
Dear niece, write down some thoughts on this, 
or some kindred theme, and send them to me, 
to help me on in my Christian course, and if 
they are worthy, I will print them for the 
benefit of others. 

" You ask my opinion of the second advent, 
or, rather, say you do not remember that I 
have expressed an opinion. I believe, then, 
my niece, that our dear Lord shall ' so come ' 
as his disciples saw him go into heaven; that 
6 we know not the day nor the hour when the 
Son of man cometh ; ' that what he said unto 
his disciples, he said unto all, ' Watch there- 
fore; for ye know not what hour your Lord 



CHARLES STODDARD. 461 

doth come' (Matt. xxiv. 42). He further says, 
' Be ye also ready ; for, at such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of man cometh' (Matt. 
xxiv. 44). Now, watchfulness and prayer are 
my prescribed duties ; and my Lord hath said, 
4 Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when 
he cometh, shall find so doing.' I would be so 
much occupied with watching and" praying, and 
doing my Master's will, as to have no time left 
for considering and determining the question 
when he will come ; especially as he has said, c It 
is not for you to know the times and the seasons 
the Father has put in his own power ' (Acts i. 7). 
" When Christ comes, if I am ready to wel- 
come him, all will be well. If he is ready to 
welcome me, how blessed ! 4 But do you expect 
to see him here on earth again?' I expect to 
see the ' King in his beauty,' whenever and 
wherever* he is pleased to gfVe me audience. 
The question of time and place he hath put in 
his own power. They are not material, if I 
feel sure, on scriptural grounds, that 'I shall 
behold his face in righteousness,' and be ac- 
cepted for his dear sake." 

"My dear Brother W., — I have your 
lines dated Monday, 25th, asking why I should 

39* 



462 MEMORIALS OF 

pass the evening of Friday with strangers at a 
hotel, when a room awaits me at Chestnut 
Cottage, &c? 

"In reply, we, that is, Old South Church, 
have on Friday evening, at half-past seven, a 
special meeting for thanksgiving and prayer to 
God, for his great goodness to us during two 
hundred years. 

" I much wish to be present and take part in 
these exercises. They occur but once in two 
centuries, namely, Friday eve. At nine that 
evening, I go to Springfield, expecting to reach 
there about midnight. I think I must stop and 
rest at S. So in returning in season for the Sab- 
bath (that Sabbath is a ' high day,' the last clay 
of the feast, when Rev. Dr. Manning preaches 
two historical or anniversary discourses, and 
our communion is celebrated), I hope to reach 
home by twelve Saturday night. Should you 
not think my reasons sufficient, I trust I am 
open to conviction, on a proper representation 
of the case. 

" Your affectionate brother, 

"C. Stoddard." 

" My dear Nephew F., — I am not un- 
mindful that you addressed me a letter from 






CHARLES STODDARD. 463 

Cannstadt, in Germany, where I learn you 
passed a pleasant and profitable year in the 
pursuit of knowledge. 

"I am now informed by your father that 
you have begun a business life, and that you 
take hold well, promising to make yourself 
very useful. This takes me back to my 
apprenticeship. At the age of thirteen, I en- 
tered a wholesale dry-goods store, and attended 
to the drudgery of sweeping out, packing 
boxes, and making fires. Gradually I was ad- 
vanced to more responsible duties, though I 
was in my twenty-first year before I was at all 
free from those with which I began. 

" I never regretted my long period of service 
in a subordinate capacity, and think, in various 
ways, it was very useful' to me. Sometimes it 
will do where a young man shows unusual tact 
and skill, to advance him rapidly ; but in very 
many cases, the young man is not able to sus- 
tain himself in this advanced position, and 
loses ground, instead of gaining it, by the move- 
ment. A very thorough acquaintance with the 
duties and responsibilities of j^our present post, 
with .accuracy and promptness in their dis- 
charge, will be the best recommendation to a 
future promotion. Excuse the train into which 
I have fallen. 



464 CHARLES STODDARD. 

" 1 am inclined to sympathize with a young 
man in your circumstances, and would fain 
encourage you; that 'patient waiters are no 
losers ; ' and that fidelity in that which is least 
is a good guaranty for fidelity in that which is 
much. The sacred volume daily read, with 
praj T er for divine guidance, will be every thing 
to you. ' Commit your way to the Lord, and 
he will direct your path.' I trust you have 
committed your interests for both worlds to 
him, and will be under his protection and 
guidance." 



XX.. 
CLOSING CORRESPONDENCE. 

18664872. 

THERE remains but one more chapter of 
my father's letters. Many of them, as we 
read them in the light of events which fol- 
lowed, seem to indicate a silent preparation 
going on, fitting him for the transition from his 
life of loving service here, to the lofty joy of a 
life of praise in the Father's home above. 

Following this are two letters to his brothers. 

"My dear Brother W., — Since my re- 
turn I received an interesting letter from you, 
dated at Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks, to 
which I replied, addressing my letter to ' Mar- 
tin's, Saranac Lake.' I fear you have not got it, 
for Mr. C. informs me that you have with pre- 
cipitation fled from the woods ; and I judged 
from his narrative, that it was with as much de- 
termination as Bunyan's Pilgfim fled from the 
City of Destruction. Pray, what changed your 

465 



466 MEMORIALS OF 

m 

mind so suddenly ? It is said in the Scriptures, 
that ' the wicked flee when no man pursueth ; ' 
but this would hardly apply to you. David ac- 
cuses Saul of pursuing a flea, in following him 
up so closely. But it would not be like you to 
chase a flea or fleas. It would seem more likely 
they had chased you out of the world of the 
Adirondacks. How is this ? " 

" My dear Brother A., — Yesterday I 
received your letter of the 3d inst., with 
transcript of ancient records in the public of- 
fices of the realm, in which our name figures, 
and perhaps our ancestors were included. Bad- 
ly off would his Majesty have been if he could 
not have purchased of Mr. R. Stoddard a piece 
of ground for a park. Suppose Mr. S. had re- 
fused to sell, as Naboth did his, when the king 
wished it for ' a garden of herbs.' Would he 
have fared as badly as Naboth did ? If there 
was a woman in the case, like Jezebel, he might 
have smarted somewhat. 

" In both your last letters you speak of home 
scenes, and the enjoyment of your entire family 
circle, with the exception of F., who is in Paris. 
I have no doubt the sweeping improvements 
since her journey, in the greenhouse and among 



CHARLES STODDARD. 467 

the shrubbery, by your fair daughter, to which 
you allude, will shine out and please the eyes of 
the beholder, and possibly be worth a journey to 
inspect and to enjoy. An intelligent person can 
hardly fail to receive profitable hints from for- 
eign travel. I remember, as you will, that 
Prof. H., who once carried his effects through 
London tied in a bandanna handkerchief, came 
home, and immediately set on foot a plan for 
beautifying the college in his village, by laying 
out landscape flower gardens, and putting shade- 
trees through the village. To this day he leads 
that community in every thing relating to taste 
and beauty. Did I ever tell you that he had 
a church erected in the c White Oaks,' nearly 
a mile further towards Clark's Mountain than 
the Sand Spring ? — with a pretty tower and 
bell and Sunday-school room and library, with 
a garden and fountain and grass-plot, roses of 
eighty or one hundred varieties, and other 
pleasant things, all paid for, and in full opera- 
tion. He himself is the pastor, and is cultivat- 
ing in that people an appreciation of moral 
beauty and fitness. One of the " White Oaks" 
men is the ' keeper of the keys ' of the church, 
and does he not feel as much dignity and im- 
portance with his sacred trust as the Lord High 



468 MEMORIALS OF 

Keeper of the great seal of England? Even 
the boys and youth, under his gentle ministra- 
tions, feel a self-respect and an aspiration which 
is new to those parts. 

"You will do well to discriminate in your 
estimate of our public men. Where every 
thing is so free, and newspapers so numerous, 
much that is untrue is printed; much also 
that is wholly made up, and has no founda- 
tion in fact. It is certain there are in Congress 
many well-principled upright men, who would 
not countenance or uphold what they deemed 
wrong or wicked. A few members of the legis- 
lature of New York give a bad name to the 
whole body. But is this a singular case ? Do 
not all popular bodies, closely analyzed, present 
similar characters? Should we "not expect 
them, knowing that human nature is corrupt ? 

" The weather is warm, the season beautiful. 
The leafy world is in the ascendant. The 
birds carol the sweet praises of the Lord. 

c Shall we, whose souls are lighted 
With wisdom from on high,' — 

come short in our praise and thanksgiving, obe- 
dience and love ? " 



CHARLES STODDARD. 469 

"My deab Children, — I thank you for 
the bird's-eye view I had of you last week. We 

learn through Mrs. J , that you returned 

safely, and found no detriment to your dear 
children in your absence. Some months ago 
we received from you a beautiful present of 
two framed photographs, pictures of 'Morn- 
ing ' and ' Evening.' We admired them at 
the time they came, and, I believe, expressed 
our admiration and our thanks to you. But 
we were uncertain where to hang them. They 
seemed to require a stronger light than is 
afforded in the hall, to bring out their beau- 
ties. So they have stood on the mantle in the 
library. 

" Since your mother has come home, we had 
a little consultation upon the matter. The 
result arrived at is, that they now hang in 
our sleeping-apartment, opposite to our couch, 
side by side, where never picture was suspended 
before. Is not this a sort of virgin soil ? The 
question came up, What position should these 
charming pictures hold toward each other? 
Does Night belong at the right hand, or at the 
left ? If at the left, she would be toward the 
luminary of day, as he rises in the east, and be 
liable to be extinguished by the brilliancy of 

40 



470 MEMORIALS OF 

his beams. Besides, she would turn her face 
away from her bright companion, which, in a 
married couple, implies some disagreement or 
coldness. If we put Morning at the left, with 
the new-born infant grasping the torch, it is 
sunrise in the soul, and emblematic of the fresh 
Aurora, of the new-born day. Then Morning 
faces and pursues Night, the owl hides his 
diminished head, and the sable gradually gives 
way. What a thing is light ! ' It is a pleas- 
ant thing for the eyes to behold the sun.' How 
much we are indebted to light ! ' Let there be 
light,' was the first command of the almighty 
Architect of this wondrous frame ; and light was. 
He is the Father of light. ' In him is no dark- 
ness at all.' His children are said to 4 walk in 
the light;' to tread in the path of the just, 
' which is as a shining light, which shineth 
more and more unto the perfect daj^.' My 
wife and I have enjoyed hanging these pictures. 
They serve to remind us of our goodly children 
from whom they came. 

" They are beautiful, as works of art ; they 
are objects on which our eyes rest, as the veil 
of night is withdrawn. They are on wings, 
and point upward. And so we will enjoy them, 
and be profited by them, until the 



.CHARLES STODDARD. 471 

' Brightest and best of the sons of the morning 
Dawns on our darkness ; ' 

'Until the clay dawns, and the shadows flee 
away.' Then shall we see Him as he is, 4 and 
behold the king in his beauty,' 6 and the beauti- 
ful land ' that to us c is not far oft.* ** 

" ]\1y dear Brother W., — No one likes 
1 special appeals ' for charitable objects. We 
hope not to make them. But suppose the 
churches, on whom the board depends, put off 
their collections till midsummer, which seems a 
growing habit; or, suppose a deacon or col- 
lector gets the money collected in an earlier 
month, and holds on to it, instead of promptly 
remitting, and finally pays oyer the 1st of 
September, or later ; what can we do ? Both 
the above, or something similar, are of very fre- 
quent occurrence in our experience at the Mis- 
sionary House. What is wanted is one or more 
efficient persons in each congregation, to see 
that the whole strength of the contribution is 
got, and promptly got. Such I suppose you to 
be in your church, and such I am supposed to 
be at Old South. The work we are engaged 
in is a work of faith, eminently so. We spent 
two days this week in earnest exhausting labor* 



472 MEMORIALS OF 

looking over estimates from all the missions, 
and making appropriations for 1870. These 
must be made in time to reach the missions, all 
over the earth, about the 1st of January of 
each year. But, when made, we have no money 
on hand. How can we know what the churches 
will give ? Whether they give, or not, the mis- 
sionaries must be fed and sustained. We trust 
in the Lord Jesus, whose servants we are. We 
think he has placed us where we are, and that 
he has guided the missionaries to their work. 
When we finished our appropriations, and the 
amount was ascertained, with one accord we 
looked up to our Master and Lord, told him 
what we had done, asked if it was agreeable to 
his will, and committed the whole case to him. 
I feel happy in doing so. He has the silver and 
the gold, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 
Not that we should relax any effort, or blindly 
expect him to work miracles to fill the treasury, 
but go fomvard with cheerful hope and expecta- 
tion of a full treasury. What can we do besides ? 
I can and hereby do exhort you, my brother, to 
see to it, that every man, woman, and child in 
your church and congregation is invited to a 
liberal contribution to the cause of foreign 
missions when the time comes. You cannot 



CHARLES STODDARD. 473 

see all personally ; but you can double the gifts, 
probably, by some plan all pervading. And I 
exhort myself to do the same in Old South, 
that there may be a cheerful response, larger in 
measure, and more elastic in manner, by reason 
of painstaking in detail, the consequence and 
the fruit of fervent prayer. Let all the con- 
gregations be treated in this manner, and the 
treasury would overflow with blessings to the 
heathen." 

"December, 1869. 

"Dear Brother W., — I thank you for 
the kind suggestion 'that I should resign my 
position on the Prudential Committee, having 
served in that office as long as is prudent.' You 
say too, ' there are younger men qualified to act 
on that committee, you are sure, and those who 
would be willing to serve. Now, what shall I 
say to all this ? I am just at the age our dear 
father was, when he resigned his office of clerk 
of the courts. He said that people were wait- 
ing to have him die, so as to take his office, 
and being a sensitive man, he would no longer 
occupy a position where others envied him. On 
the other hand, our honored mother ever re- 
gretted that her husband resigned so early. It 
threw him out of employment, and made some 

40* 



474 MEMORIALS OF 

of the subsequent years pass rather slowly. 
However that may be, I have never contem- 
plated a long life as probable in my case. I do 
not look forward with hope, expectation, or 
desire, to attaining the years of our father, or 
paternal grandfather, nor even to those of our 
maternal grandfather, or his predecessor. Yet 
there is to be said, on the other hand, that, in 
the fifty-five years I have resided in this city, I 
have never been visited with a serious illness, 
and rarely have consulted a physician. Once in 
a year is oftener than I have been detained from 
the house of the Lord on the Sabbath-: so that 
others may build theories from these data, that 
I should not. We are on the seventh decade. 
We can hardly expect to continue as now, a 
long time. What we have to do, we should do 
with our might. 

" Your affectionate brother, 

"C. Stoddahd." 

u My dear M., — I cannot remember the 
time when you were not affectionate and loving 
in your attentions to me. As years roll on, I 
notice that you pay special attention to my 
feet. A footstool, cunningly wrought by your 
own hands, has long reminded me of our great 



CHARLES STODDARD. 475 

Creator, whose throne is the heavens, and his 
footstool the earth. Now your free-will offering 
is a ' kid of the goats,' that my feet may be c shod 
with the preparation of the gospel of peac^ ' 
(Eph. vi. 15). You doubtless desire that I 
should walk in wisdom's pleasant way, and 
that I may walk safely, that my feet may not 
stumble (Prov. iii. 23) ; and also that my feet 
should not slip, nor run to evil. The embroid- 
ery, so pleasing to the eye, is in good taste. 
The soft and easy fit, and the whole surround- 
ing gives a peculiarly pleasurable sensation, for 
'tis a slipper for which I thank you. I will not 
say, with an impulsive disciple, 6 Not my feet 
only, but also my hands and my head ' (John 
xiii. 9), but will be satisfied if, in time to come, 
as in the past, you will watch my footsteps." 

" My dear Niece F., — Do you know how 
rich I am just now ? I have recent letters 
from my nieces F. and A., also from E., also 
from F. and C, and from their father and 
mother, and yours. These letters, coming from 
a literary atmosphere, bring with them a fresh 
and agreeable odor, and answer to my mental 
and moral nature, as a bracing atmosphere does 
to the respiratory organs. They impart vigor, 



476 MEMORIALS OF 

they cheer, they expand* Your letter is the 
eldest in date, and, though written on paper 
tinged with blue, it is not a blue letter, by any 
means. It is rather racy, and' descriptive of 
the scenery and the character of the Norsemen 
of Northern Europe. I cannot tell you how 
many times it has been read, nor how much 
enjoyment it afforded. Arriving at a moment 
when I was absent at Pittsburg, on important 
public duties, it followed me thither, and 
waited with great patience at the post-office, 
for a call from me, while I waited, with as much 
equanimity as I could, for a call from it at my 
hotel. Suffice it to say, we missed each other ; 
and it was not till after my return home, and 
repeated solicitations, that I could induce the 
postmaster at Pittsburg to part with so valu- 
able a treasure, and send it to its rightful owner. 
Yet, though it reposed near a month in that 
smoky atmosphere, it came back with 'no smell 
of fire upon it.' Rather, it was a fresh and sat- 
isfying epistle. I wish you would go up to 
Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, every year, 
and write me the result. Thus you might per- 
fect yourself in the language, and adapt your- 
self to the climate ; but I will not dwell on the 
possible consequences of such visits. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 477 

"And how this letter lies open before me, 
written on board the steamer 4 Warsaw,' off Cox 
Haven. No doubt the date will call to mind a 
stormy, rough, and disagreeable passage home. 
But 

4 The storm is laid, the winds retire, 

Obedient to His will ; 
The sea, which roars at his command, 
At his command is still.' 

" We have had a mild and pleasant winter, 
with little or no frost or snow. Not a particle 
of snow is to be seen, and v no ice on our ponds 
and lakes. In the cheerful morning, as we look 
out upon the land and water scape, lit up by 
the brilliant shining after rain, I cannot re- 
frain, in our orisons, from giving thanks to the 
Father of mercies, for lighting up, in so beauti- 
ful a manner, the objects which greet our eyes, 
while we stand in the shadow of our home to 
enjoy it. My Father made all this wondrous 
frame. It is his, and he made it. And he 
made me capable of enjoying it. And I do 
enjoy it as his handiwork ; and as I journey, I 
would fain sing of his goodness to the children 
of men, and of his mercy to myself. 'Tis He 
who crowns the year with his goodness ; 'tis He 
that makes our paths to drop marrow and fat- 
ness ; and ; praised be his name ! ' 



478 MEMORIALS OF 

" You can sing, F. ; and I think you love to 
raise your voice in hymns of praise to our boun- 
tiful Creator and Benefactor. 

4 Children of the heavenly King, 
As ye journey, sweetly sing; 
Sing the Saviour's worthy praise, 
Wondrous in his works and ways.' 

And so we go on our journey in this afternoon 
of life. 

" What a grand idea is that of living, not 
unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us, 
and rose again ! Let gratitude, for what he has 
done for us, mingle with desires to imitate him , 
in saving the lost. Then the soul mounts up 
to some resemblance to Him who came on an 
errand of mercy and love, to save us ; yes, to 
save me." 

The letter which follows is written to his 
brother : — 

" My dear Brother A., — Your lines of 
the 26th March reached me last week. I agree 
with you that all material prosperity £>f a state 
is what is drawn from the earth or the water. 
And it has often been a remark of mine, that a 
day of rain, when a drought was threatened to 
our country, was of more consequence than the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 479 

loss, at one blow, of all the material wealth 
accumulated in New York or Boston. The traf- 
fickers, traders, and merchants of a city are 
engaged in exchanging commodities; and it 
often happens, that what one gains, makes an- 
other poorer. 

" In reference to questions of political econo- 
my, the first condition to be considered is the 
geography of the country. If it be an island, 
like Britain, depending in part for its food 
upon importations from abroad, and unable to 
get more than a moiety from the soil, then free 
trade, or a market for her manufactures, is vital, 
a question whether the people shall starve or 
not. She must make outside nations give her 
grain or food for her wares. 

" But in a country like this the question of 
food never comes in. We always have abun- 
dance, and a large surplus, and it is difficult to 
imagine circumstances where we shall need to 
import any necessary article of food. 

" I think the less the restrictions on the inter- 
course of men in exchanging products, the better. 
Trade should be as free as possible, and the 
tendency is to hamper and restrict it by duties 
on imports, direct taxes, &c* But it should 
not be forgotten, that, for eighty years of our 



480 MEMORIALS OF 

existence as a nation, we never put a direct na- 
tional tax upon our people, to the amount of a 
dollar, and were only necessitated to do it by 
the gigantic war of the Rebellion. I find a re- 
luctance in our legislators, to relinquish these 
direct taxes ; but the people will demand it, as 
fast and as far as is consistent with a sure pro- 
vision for the payment of our national debt, prin- 
cipal and interest. Congress is now hammering 
away at a tariff, as if even more duties should 
be laid, instead of a reduction which can well 
be made. But I trust this tariff will be re- 
jected and never become a law, and that there 
will be a reduction of duties on many articles. 
This would suit my ideas: to be reduced as 
fast, and as far, as is consistent with a full pro- 
vision for paying the nation's debt. 

Boston, Sept. 30, 1870. 

" In your various letters, you have alluded to 
the remarkable war now going on in France, 
where the success seems all on the side of the 
Germans. I think the hand of Jehovah is in 
it, and that its results will be greatly for the 
furtherance of the gospel. It has been France 
and French influence, that has encouraged and 
sustained the Jesuits in the heathen world, and 
thwarted and hindered Protestant missions to 



CHARLES STODDARD. 481 

lands to be evangelized. It is the sword of 
France that of late years, has upheld the 
Pope and Popery in Italy, and especially in 
Rome. The Pope now feels insecure. His 
temporal power has vanished, and he has no 
temporal helper. I acquiesce in the mighty 
events, and pray the Lord to bring order out of 
confusion, and to so control the passions and 
ambitions of men, as to promote his glory and 
kingdom among men. Mrs. S. unites with me 
in love to F. and to all your children. 
" Your affectionate brother, 

"Charles Stoddard." 

"My dear Nephew F., — I wish you a 
happy new year, a pleasant voyage, a joyful 
meeting with your family and friends, a future 
of as much worldly prosperity and happiness as 
our heavenly Father is pleased to send, or you 
can safely receive ; and in addition to these and 
all terrestrial pleasures, a good hope that you 
are a child of God, illustrated by a life of use- 
fulness in the service of the best of masters, 
and, in the world to come, a crown of glory 
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for all 
the faithful. 

" Your affectionate uncle, 

41 " Chables Stoddard." 



482 MEMORIALS OF 

His thoughtfulness, shown in the quiet man- 
ner in which he incites his grandson to study 
the Bible, appears in the following letter : — 

" The Second Psalm, 
" The Twenty-third Psalm, 
" The fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah, 
" The last chapter in Revelation, 
" And the first ten questions and answers of 
the Assembly's Catechism. 

" My dear Grandson, — I know you have 
learned and committed to memory the four 
chapters in the Bible mentioned above. I want 
to have you know them so well that you will 
never forget them. I give you April and May 
to review and make them perfect to a word. 
Then, if you repeat them to me without a miss 
of one word, I offer, with the approval of your 
parents, to take you to Plymouth, forty miles, 
and show you the rock where our forefathers 
landed." 

u .My dear Niece F., — I enclose you pro- 
ceedings of a very interesting interview, held 
last evening with a number of Indian chiefs 
of the wild, roving tribes, whom Gen. Grant, 
our president, is trying to tame and make quiet 



CHARLES STODDARD 483 

citizens, by settling them on land and teaching 
them to cultivate the soil. The past policy of 
our government to these tribes of aborigi- 
nes has been, to make treaties with them as 
foreign nations, and Congress has often failed 
to make the needed appropriations to carry out 
the treaties ; or, if they did, unscrupulous men 
have been employed, who have cheated the 
Indians out of their annuities, and left them to 
starve, so that the word of the president with 
them has been broken. They live far away, in 
sparsely settled parts of this great continent, 
and it is difficult to look after, and make strictly 
accountable, the agents of the government. 
The true policy, as it seems to me, is to treat 
them as citizens under the protection of our 
laws, as we do emigrants from other countries, 
and allow them to own land, and build houses, 
and have schools and churches, the same as 
other people ; not punish the crime of one poor 
Indian, by a war on all his tribe. 

" F., I verily believe a person of your patient 
temperament, and intellectual perceptions of 
the fitness of things, if clothed with the needed 
power, would work out a solution of this 
Indian question, which would be most happy 
for the untutored savage, and blessed for the 



484 MEMORIALS OF 

country where he sojourns as 'a pilgrim and 
a stranger.' 

" Now in these days of woman's rights, what 
could you do better, than to take up this great 
subject of redressing or righting the wrongs 
of all the Indians on this continent, who are 
within the territory of these United States, so 
far as these can be affected by general regula- 
tions and faithful agencies, and comprehensive 
plans ? It would probably take all the leisure 
of such an one as you, for a year, to read up 
and learn the history and policy of the United 
States, with reference to the tribes ; and 
another year to visit, and inquire personally 
into the wrongs, the feelings, and *the plans for 
doing them good. The great obstacle is the 
number of different tribes (seventy or eighty), 
and the different and dissimilar languages these 
Indians speak. Good and well-qualified inter- 
preters are not plenty, yet they are to be had. 
Were you a man, I should gravely present this 
subject to you, as a practical way of doing 
good ; and as you are not, I throw out these 
thoughts for your cogitations. I think your 
father has a few volumes about the Indians, in 
his library. And should you desire, I can pro- 
cure the published Congressional documents 



CHARLES STODDARD. 485 

in relation to these tribes, for your improve- 
ment and study. The gospel, I regard as ulti- 
mately the only effectual remedy for the wants 
and woes of poor Indians, as well as of all 
others. We have a flourishing mission among 
the Dacotahs, a tribe of some thirty thousand 
souls. And the other religious denominations 
have missionaries among other tribes. Their 
great want is a personal interest in the provis- 
ions of the gospel for the salvation of their 
souls. 

" But preparatory and in subordination to 
this great end, is the locating and protecting of 
them in their rights of property and the avails 
of their industry, that they may be encouraged 
to adopt the habits and the practices of civil- 
ized and Christian communities. Your letter 
of March 31 was received about a fortnight 
later, and gave me much pleasure, as it did to 
your aunt, and Cousin M. We are having now 
warm weather, 80° to 90°, Fahrenheit, while 
you were shivering, a fortnight ago, with cold. 
You have much to enjoy in your varied life, 
— practising with M. on the piano, sketching 
from nature, gathering wild flowers, and study- 
ing the objects in earth, in water, and air, 
making yourself mistress of geology. Do you 

41* 



486 MEMORIALS OF 

discover, as yet, ' sermons in stones ' ? I shall 
be happy to hear of your discoveries in this 
line. I doubt not the effect of all your geo- 
logical investigation will be to deepen and 
confirm your unshaken confidence in the Scrip- 
ture declaration, ' In the beginning God created 
the heavens and the earth.' 

" We are beginning to cherish a better feel- 
ing towards the mother-country. The treaty is 
generally acceptable here, for its equity and 
fairness. It has been confirmed by a four-fifths 
vote in the Senate, and we feel sure it will be 
signed by your queen, and become a fixed fact. 
I have no claim under it, nor any of my friends, 
so far as I know ; but I rejoice in it because of 
the principles of rectitude which it embodies. 
Your aunt M. is the same quiet, placid friend 
and companion as when you were with us ; but 
she will not be able to write much. Love to you. 
" Your affectionate uncle, 

"Charles Stoddard." 

There follow two characteristic letters to dif- 
ferent grandsons : — 

"June, 1872. 

" My dear Grandson, — I wish you much 
happiness on your birthday. I send you in this 



CHARLES STODDARD. 487 

five small notes by the United States. They 
promise to pay you ten cents cash, or fifty 
cents in all. At Andover, you may not wish 
to buy any thing, but you may wish to do 
good with money ; and I dare say they have 
collections in the Sabbath school and the 
church. 

" We heard this morning that the steamer 
in which your father and mother sailed, arrived 
at Queenstown to-day. If you are' glad to hear 
this, thank the Lord, who has preserved them, 
and write a little letter. Thank Mr. and Mrs. 
E. for all their kindness to you. Praise the 
Lord, for he is good. 

" Your affectionate grandfather, 

"C. S." 

"My dear Grandson, — I shall be most 
happy to hear you recite perfectly the fifty-fifth 
chapter of Isaiah, at four o'clock the after- 
noon before Christmas. 

"Sooner, if snow comes, and you are in a 
hurry for a blue sled. 

" Your Grandpa Stoddard." 

" My dear Brother W., — I wish to thank 
you in advance for remembering me with the 
beautiful autumnal fruit. I shall look out for 



488 MEMORIALS OF 

it, and be grateful as I partake of it. I have 
all things, and abound ; but I never owned an 
apple-tree, nor ground to plant in, but I have 
before now sat under my own vine, and had 
more blessings than I can remember." 

A little later he writes : — 

" I have suffered from a cold ; but I did not 
keep in the house, except when rainy, but went 
about my regular avocations, and had no anx- 
ious apprehensions, although my mansion, hav- 
ing stood the storms of seventy winters, may be 
expected to be racked soon. Still I am happy 
to have it taken down, when it pleases the 
great Master-Builder ; and, while it lasts, my 
purpose is, in my poor way, to sing his worthy 
praise, and to extol his excellent majesty. In 
this I invite you to join, and it may be an 
acceptable offering, well pleasing to God." 

He writes this year to one of his daughters 
as follows : — 

" It is a matter of increasing satisfaction to 
me, to know that my times are in God's hands. 
He condescends to order all my affairs. I 
would have no will nor purpose on which 1 
cannot ask his blessing. And I would feel sat- 



CHARLES STODDARD, 489 

isfied with his disposal of me and mine accord- 
ing to his most holy will. I feel sure that my 
highest desires for my children and grand- 
children are, that they may be new creatures in 
Christ Jesus. 

" And, as the years roll on, the final abode of 
4 the just made perfect ' looms up to the eye of 
faith as infinitely desirable and blessed. In 
connection with these experiences, the word of 
God has such a relish for me, that I can lay 
down any other book as insipid compared with 
the sure word of prophecy. I have great pleas- 
ure, nearly every day in the year, at the early 
morning hour, in dwelling upon portions of the 
Scripture, in preparing for my Sabbath Bible- 
class, and in this way, have gone through the 
Old Testament, with the exception of Jeremiah 
and Ezekiel, in course. Now I am upon the 
life of Christ, chronologically arranged, and the 
daily refreshment amply repays for the time 
and labor given. The Christian life, to be of 
any value, must be one of service. It is not our 
enjoyment or comfort we should seek, but the 
good of others. And happiness, in the Chris- 
tian course, must be found in imparting to 
others the blessings we have received ourselves. 

" This is the way our heavenly Father does 



490 MEMORIALS OF 

good even to the evil and unthankful. And 
we can never have an example more sublime 
than our Father above. I trust the winter will 
not wear away without a visit from you, even 
though it be short. The opportunities will not 
always last, and let us enjoy intercourse as 
often as we can ; for we may be gainers, and do 
each other good." 

During his last absence in Europe, he met 
an English clergyman who, with his wife, was 
studying art and recreating in Italy. Mr. Stod- 
dard with his quick appreciation of this refined, 
scholarly, and cultured mind, and more than 
all, with the sterling piety of this gentleman, fos- 
tered the acquaintance casually begun. Many 
were the walks on the Pincian Hill, many the 
conversations that they held, in which I shared 
the pleasure. And delightful, in the quiet 
rooms of the hotel were our Sabbath services, 
with only the two families as worshippers. The 
friendship was kept up, first by notes, then by 
a delightful visit at the English home, where 
husband and wife joined in making the sojourn 
most refreshing. Subsequent correspondence 
bridged the ocean that separated them, and 
this was full of a warm, mutual sympathy. A 
part of one of my father's letters will give 



CHARLES STODDARD. 491 

an idea of this intercourse. Alluding to the 
great fire of 1872, in Boston, in regard to 

which Rev. Mr. B had written a letter 

of sympathy, my father says, " Man is an ani- 
mal slow to learn wisdom. Wisdom is said to 
come out of the fire. And now all sorts of 
plans are broached for rebuilding our burnt 
district in a safe manner, well protected against 
fire. But I scarcely hope for any substantial 
protection until we have suffered again and 
again. Concert of action in builders, peremp- 
tory orders from competent authority capable 
of enforcing its mandates, are especially needed 
in so free a community as this. 

" I fully sympathize with you in the views 
you express of the unsettled state of our moral 
and theological affairs. New theories are con- 
stantly advanced on all subjects. The Bible is 
assailed by friend and foe. For wise reasons, 
our heavenly Father permits error to spring up, 
and impossible theories to be brought forward, 
that they may be combated by truth, and, in 
the end, truth prevails. 

" Meantime, the work of the world's evan- 
gelization is steadily going forward, and one 
nation after another is preparing to wheel into 
line under the banner of the cross. And blessed 



492 MEMORIALS OF 

are those who bear a part in this work ! We 
are certain of the final triumph of the gospel 
of the Son of God. 

" I hope, dear sir, your health and usefulness 
will be long continued, and made more and 
more apparent. My wife joins me in affection- 
ate remembrances to you and Mrs. B . 

" I am, dear sir, yours in Christian bonds, 

«C. S." 

Shortly after this letter was received, word 
was sent to him that my father was no longer 
here to confer with him upon the themes on 

which both loved to dwell. Rev. Mr. B 

thus replied : — 

u Dear, Mrs. J., — When your letter reached 
me, there lay on my desk an envelope addressed 
to 'C. Stoddard, Esq., Boston;' and I cannot 
tell you with how much regret I received your 
painful communication. In your father's last 
letter, he enclosed his latest photograph. And, 
though I did not need it to preserve the out- 
line of his bodily presence, yet it was very 
acceptable, as showing the advances of age 
under the sacred influence of faith in Christ, 
and the daily enjoyment of a hope which puri- 
fies the spirit, the nearer it approaches the 



CHARLES STODDARD. 493 

blessedness of fruition. I have always esteemed 
it one of the felicities of my life, that I ever 
knew him, and have always looked upon him 
as a unique example of some Christian graces, 
the remembrance of which has often been of 
great use to me. He was so serene, so self-pos- 
sessed, so unambitious, and so real in his life, 
that he has often occurred to my thoughts 
when endeavoring to describe the true disciple, 
in opposition to the fretful, restless tribe, who 
weary themselves for c very vanity.' 

" His most obvious characteristic was seren- 
ity, which seemed to be made up of self-posses- 
sion and cheerfulness. He was so good, so 
calm, so beneficent, that I have thought he 
was one of the best examples of Christian faith 
and diffusive goodness I had ever known. His 
peace arose from reconciliation with God, and 
his love for his fellow-creatures. I remember 
one day, he was passing through the passage in 
the hotel where he staid in Rome, when a 
pane of glass in the inner doors was broken 
while he passed through them. I said to my 
wife, knowing his calm manner, ' I should as 
soon think it was broken by a sunbeam, as by 
Mr. Stoddard.' He has left a fair and lovely 
imags on my memory." 

42 



494 MEMORIALS OF 

There are, among the letters sent to me from 
which to make selection, two addressed to Dr. 
Clark, Secretary of the American Board. They 
were written to cheer and encourage him in 
days of physical weakness. Dr. Clark sent them, 
suggesting that they were ' characteristic,' and 
4 very valuable to him as tokens of his personal 
regard.' That all who were associated with 
my father loved him, is their constant testi- 
mony. The first of these letters was written 
in 1870: — 

44 .My dear Sir, — I hope that you are en- 
joying yourself in your quiet, pleasant home, 
and are conscious of gain. 

" I hope as your recovery progresses, and 
strength returns, as I believe it will, that you 
will have patience with yourself, and not be 
unduly anxious to go to work again. 

" I have often admired the quiet content- 
ment of Gentleman Noah, when the flood had 
abated, and he was naturally anxious to get out 
of the ark, and smell the fresh air once more. 
It is said of him (Gen. viii. 10), that he 'staid 
other seven days,' and, in verse 12, ' and he 
staid other seven days,' and lingered till he had 
received the command of God to go forth out of 



CHARLES STODDARD. 495 

the arJc. c Patient waiters are no losers ; ' and 
you are one of these ; and, in due time, we shall 
hope to welcome you back to the Missionary 
House. 

" Yours very affectionately, 

" C. S." 

The other is written in 1871, when Dr. Clark 
was absent chiefly on missionary duties, while 
at the same time his friends hoped that he might 
gain, in the change of work, some needed re- 
freshment. 

" My dear Friend, — Your most welcome 
letter, dated Brindisi, reached me before I left 
my house yesterday, and the manner in which 
you speak of yourself is quite encouraging, 
especially as what we had previously heard 
from you in Florence and Rome was not par- 
ticularly favorable. If you are indeed ' feeling 
better than for a year before,' it is a great gain. 
You have the ordeal of warm weather, and 
exciting scenes with missionaries and native 
brethren before you. But the Lord seems to 
have sent his angel before your face, and thus 
prepared the way before you, in and around 
Constantinople and the region of Western Tur- 
key. So it may turn out that your chief busi- 



496 MEMORIALS OF 

ness there, may be to pour oil, and bless them 
in the name of the Lord, bidding them God 
speed. In such a state of things, too good to 
be looked for, the very exuberance of your feel- 
ings, from distressing doubt and apprehension, 
to perfect love that casteth out fear, may be too 
much for your nerves. And the Lord, ever 
mindful of our weakness, may send you trials 
there you could not have looked for. Yet he 
will help you, and in any case bring you out of 
all your experiences into a large and healthy 
place. Perhaps this place is Switzerland, where 
it will be well for you to pause on your return, 
and spend a month in quiet repose among those 
grand displays of God's creative power. I am 
not sure that you could do better, though 
wanted here ; and not calculate to be here 
until the eve of the annual meeting in Octo- 
ber, leaving others to make all the arrange- 
ments therefor. 

" I write, not by authority, but you are in- 
vested with a wise discretion ; and in a matter 
of this kind, your wife, like her father, would 
be, I should think, a wise counsellor. I am 
much interested in your comments on Italy and 
Rome. God works slowly, but he will over- 
turn, and he, whose right it is, shall reign. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 497 

Let us adore his excellent majesty. Let us 
admire his wonderful ways ; not as ours, but 
higher and more glorious. 

" I rest in his exceeding great and precious 
promises, not for Italy or Turkey only, but for 
a revolted world, one day to sit down at our 
Immanuel's feet, and crown Him Lord of all. 

Mrs. S desires to join with me in best 

wishes for your prosperity. 

" We pray for you to our God and yours, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

" Yours, 

, "C.S." 

With his only sister, letters were exchanged 
during the years from her childhood to these 
last weeks of Mr. Stoddard's life. All but 
very few, and those the last that were written, 
were burned. 

The following is to her : — 

" My dear Sister, — Your letter of 2d 

December, at B , has been long in my 

hands. I thank you for writing ; and I wish we 
might oftener exchange letters, thus knowing 
events in each other's lives minutely, that we 
might sympathize more fully in each other's 
joys and anticipations. For I trust, my dear 



498 MEMORIALS OF 

sister, your prevailing feelings in reference to 
the future, partake something of the spirit of 
Paul in chains, expecting martyrdom, when he 
said, 6 I am now ready to be offered, and the 
time of my departure is at hand. I have 
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is 
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which 
the Lord shall give me at that day.' I hardly 
expect you to be in the expectant attitude of 
Paul, though I think it is our privilege to 
rejoice in the Lord, and in the exercise of faith, 
to recognize our title to the heavenly inherit- 
ance ; not of works, but of grace. For myself, 
having nearly completed my seventieth year, I 
am called an old man. I have lived a very 
busy life, and been more stationary than some 
of my brothers. As to the best use of life for 
the glory of God, and the best interests of men, 
who of us can compare with our brother 
David, whose life, though brief, was so full of 
labor for Christ, of successful missionary work, 
and who still lives to influence the present and 
the future generations, by his example of self- 
sacrifice to his Master ? 

" It is twenty-five years next November, 
since our eldest brother entered into rest. 



CHARLES STODDARD, 499 

Lovely and pleasant ' was lie to me in life, and 
his memory is fragrant." 

" With feeble health how much did he ac- 
complish ! His Latin grammar yields his 
widow an income yearly. What he did, in the 
way of instructing and influencing the rising 
race for high and holy work, we know not, but 
his influence was only for good while he lived. 
I suppose you will be happy in having a son in 
the missionary field. I know your heart is in 
the work, and I shall be glad to hear often from 

you. 

" Affectionately, 

« C. S." 

To one of his grandsons, April, 1870 : — 

" My dear Gbandson, — On this, your 
tenth birthday, I send you a picture which I 
admire, and I hope you will. It contains twenty- 
three heads, or portraits, all Jewish. Two of 
them are supposed to be the reputed parents of 
our Lord, Joseph and Mary. But the principal 
figure is intended to represent the Lord Jesus 
Christ, when he was twelve, two years older 
than you are to-day. 

4 Yet he obeyed his mother then, 
And came at her command/ 



500 MEMORIALS OF 

He was holy, harmless, and separate from 
sinners. He has had many followers and imi- 
tators. One of them was Thomas a Kempis, 
who lived some hundreds of years ago. Another 
was Paul, called by some people ' Saint Paul,' 
because he followed Christ so closely. Won't 
you imitate Christ, and follow him, my grand- 
son ? Do as you think Jesus would have you, 
every day. Learn to love him. Try to please 
him. Daily pray to him, for he is alive in 
heaven, and, if you love and serve him here 
on earth, he will take you, when you die, to live 
in that glorious world where he is. Ask if you 
may have this picture hung in your room. If 
you will look at it every morning, and ask your- 
self, How would Jesus like to have me act and 
do to-day? it may help you to do right, and 
thus to please and honor him. 

" My dear grandson, I wish you many happy 
years : so does grandma. 

" Your affectionate grandpa, 

" C. S." 

" Dear Brother A., — I do not call myself 
young now. Providence, or rather I would say 
my heavenly Father, has favored me with a good 
measure of health, during nearly all my life. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 501 

Rarely have I had occasion to consult a physi- 
cian, and more rarely have I been detained from 
the house of God on the Sabbath. Last No- 
vember completed fifty years membership in Old 
South Church, and I shall have been in the 
Sabbath school, as teacher, in September, dur- 
ing the same period of time. For thirty-one 
years I have served the Old South, as treasurer, 
but this office I resign in April. And at next 
commencement I propose to vacate my connec- 
tion with Williams College, as trustee, having 
served thirty-three or thirty-four years. 

"In your letter of Feb. 21, you say of the 
Washington treaty, ' If claims are set up and 
enforced, or, rather, persisted in, which are 
opposed to common-sense and to justice, do you 
think we shall gain any thing, in the end, by 
bringing them forward ? ' 

" To which I reply, The Golden Rule, laid 
down in the New Testament by the Lord and 
Redeemer, is the ultimate and final rule for the 
good alike of nations, communities, and individ- 
uals. Here it is : ' Whatsoever ye would that 
men should do to you, do ye even so to them : 
for this is the law and the prophets.' 

" To learn whether the government and peo- 
ple of England did according to this rule, in 



502 MEMORIALS OF 

our late civil conflict, they have only to place 
themselves in our circumstances, and ask if 
they would like to be served as they served us. 
If they would, then no treaty is needed. When 
England is next at war with a European power, 
precisely the line of conduct pursued toward 
her, which she pursued toward us, would go far 
to ruin her commerce, protract her conflict, and 
well-nigh ruin her country. Then, as to indi- 
rect or consequential damages ; if it is against 
common^sense to put forward such claims by 
the United States, then it would be against 
common-sense in any future wars of Great 
Britain ; and she may be ruined by indirect 
losses of the profit of her ships and commerce ; 
but she can never bring forward any claim for 
damages. I think the royal law will stand the 
test, and nothing short of it. And there had 
better be no settlement between the two powers, 
unless on the basis of the Golden Rule. Eng- 
land has stoutly and persistently said that she 
could not prevent ' The Alabama ' from escaping 
from her ports. But she could have stopped 
that cruiser in the first of her ports afterwards 
entered. Did she make an effort to do this ? 
Did she not give all these cruisers aid and com- 
fort, in her ports, while they were destroying 



CHARLES STODDARD. 503 

our commerce ? Has she ever denied this ? 
Which was the worst, — allowing the pirates to 
escape, or giving them aid and comfort ever 
after? Remember, England proposed the late 
settlement, and sent her best men to Washing- 
ton to form the treaty. They were received 
with cordiality and candor. The British 
envoys consulted the home government by tele- 
gram at every step. The treaty was drawn 
with clearness and precision ; each party was to 
make a statement to arbitrators. It was rati- 
fied and confirmed by our president and his 
cabinet, by United States senators, and signed 
by our chief magistrate. It was also ratified by 
the government of Great Britain, and has the 
signature of her Majesty the Queen. The arbi- 
trators are all appointed and all ready. Each 
party agreed to submit absolutely to their decis- 
ion. Now, before they have met, a great out- 
cry is heard in Britain, ' We never will submit 
to arbitration on such claims.' 

" England makes up her case as she pleases. 
We make our claim for damages definite. 
" Besides, we argue claims for consequential 
damages. We, the United States, will accept 
the decision as final, whatever is awarded. So 
England must not lose ground. There is no 



504 MEMORIALS OF 

excitement in this country about the treaty. 
The reason it was universally approved here 
when negotiated, was the evidence apparent, 
that each party meant to do right. We want 
not a dollar more than the arbitrators think we 
should have. For the cause of humanity, I 
hope there will be no further hinderance to a 
final settlement by the arbitrators at Geneva. 

"I find my mind more and more occupied 
with the world which lies beyond this, and the 
importance of doing with my might what I 
have to do while here, which cannot be long. 
Why should we not open our hearts and our 
contemplations to the objects of faith ; espe- 
cially to Christ as a personal Saviour, who is 
willing to come to us, and to hold intimate 
relations to us as our guest, if we so desire? 
May you, dear brother, as you abound in 
knowledge and in wisdom, abound in this grace 
also, of intimate communion with Jesus as 
your personal Saviour ! Let us strive together 
for this." 

"My dear Niece S., — I remember that 
this is an anniversary day to you. I hope it 
may find you on the ascending series, in regard 
to health. True, the winter has been long, and 



CHARLES STODDARD. 505 

cold and stormy. But you have had a warm 
dry home, with good lodgings, and kind friends 
to anticipate your wishes and supply your 
wants. Then you have a kind Father above, 
who knows your frame, and takes cognizance 
of your weakness, and who will not ' break the 
bruised reed.' Confide lovingly, my dear, in 
this heavenly Friend ; accept with cheerfulness 
all the allotments he sends. Receive them as 
from a Father's hand. Feel that He will order 
all things in kindness and love, and, if you are 
his, cause all to work out your best good ■ for 
this world, and for that which is to come. 'Do 
all things without murmurings or disputings, 
that you may be a child of God without 
rebuke.' 

" The wise and good who have preceded us 
have found much profit and permanent benefit 
in the afflictions and trials which they have 
been called to meet. And it is no doubt true, 
that our light afflictions do often yield 'the 
peaceable fruits of righteousness ' to those of 
us who are exercised thereby. May we not 
hope that you may find your Christian graces 
refined and purified by the confinement and 
illness which has now followed jon several 
months ? There are many severer sufferers in 

43 



506 MEMORIALS OF 

the range of my acquaintance. You can recall 
such cases. 

"It is a world of trial in which we live; 
but if the trials are received by us with meek 
submission and acquiescence to the divine will, 
they will be sanctified, and work in us the 
peaceable fruits of righteousness. 

" I write to you not expecting a reply, unless 
you feel like it some time. Your aunt sends 
her love. She has a sympathizing heart, and 
often speaks of you and of your indisposition, 
with a longing desire for your recovery. You 
share in our prayers, my dear S. The portrait 
of your dear departed father is before us when- 
ever we are in the dining-room. 

" His bright Christian example should ani- 
mate us in 'running the race set before us,' 
which race, in my case, must be nearly run 
already. With love to all, 

"C. S." 

" To his niece S. : — 

" Children of the heavenly King, 
As you journey, sweetly sing." 

" ' But I can't sing ; my voice is weak, and I 
have a cough.' 

"Yes, you can sing. The birds sing, in a 



CHARLES STODDARD, 507 

wet morning, without a towel to wipe off and 
dry their feathers. If you can't sing, hum ; if 
you can't do that, say, 4 Lul, lul, lul.' Turn 
your thoughts outward. Think of some one 
whom God cares for, but who has little sym- 
pathy from men, and go and visit her. There 
must be many in Northampton who would 
value a brief call from you; and if you get 
- tired going, you could rest after. I would go 
"but every day, and have some objective point, as 
the theologians would say. 

" I hear that the poor horse is dead. Well, 
I presume he has lived out the full measure of 
his days. Please say to my brother that there 
is a horse in N. or its vicinity, gentle, and 
easily driven by a female. 

" His owner wishes some one to hire him for 
three months, and give a moderate compensa- 
tion for his use. I do not know exactly what 
barn holds this horse. You might say, ' Now, 
father, you want just such a horse as Uncle 
Charles speaks of, and he says he can be found 
in a barn in the town, or near it. I will volun- 
teer to visit all the barns in town, one each 
day, till I discover the nag ; and having found 
him, I will immediately introduce him to you, 
and you to him.' Do not be shocked, my 



508 MEMORIALS OF 

dear, at the suggestion that a public-school 
teacher should become a horse-hunter. Any 
honest employment is honorable ; and, till ' that 
horse ' was found, you would always have 
an objective case to govern walks. So if 
there are not wilted mortals in sufficient num- 
bers to visit, you will not be without motive 
in going out. After you get out, do as I do; 
open your mouth, and take a long breath, then 
inhale as large a quantity of the air of heaven 
as your lungs will contain, and do that over 
and over every few minutes ; and in the course 
of thirty walks, on as many days, you will find 
your chest and respiratory organs wonderfully 
improved, so that you will sing for very joy, 
sweetly and loud. Don't read or meditate ; 
when at leisure, sing, if not loud, then softly, — 

" When all thy mercies, O my God, 
My rising sonl surveys." 

" The gentlest whisper of a song of praise 
will do you good. I hope those dirty books are 
carried back to the library, and you need none 
in their room just now. You have three months 
of delicious fall weather before you. Go and 
count the apples on a tree ; and count how they 
can be made to do good, and not perish. _ I 



CHARLES STODDARD. 509 

think of your pleasant face, and am drawn out 
to thank you for your company at Marion, dur- 
ing four weeks. You did well to come. Now 
that house is deserted and still. All the inmates 
are gone to their homes ; but poor fc Dan,' the 
dog, where is he ? 

" With love to all, your uncle, 

" Charles Stoddard." 

" My dear Brother W., — Probably you 
may remember the return of' your birthday, 
and be aware that you now enter upon your 
seventieth year. I presume you do not feel 
any thing like as old as you have done at earlier 
periods of your history. However this may be, 
I come to congratulate you on attaining so 
respectable an age, and to sing with you, — 

" Thus far the Lord hath led me on, 

Thus far his power prolongs my days; 
And every evening shall make known 
Some fresh memorial of his grace." 

" I think you sing better than I, for I do 
not, as yet, sing any ; but I hope to : learn some 
of the tunes which fill with delight the holy 
throng above. While your 'bow abides in 
strength,' may you yet do much for the cause 
of the Lord ! I think it matter for praise to 

43* 



510 CHARLES STODDARD. 

God, that you were called so early into his king- 
dom, and that you have had so active and 
prominent a part in building up the kingdom 
of our Lord in connection with the benevolent 
enterprises which have grown out of the church 
with which you are connected. Let us not feel 
that we must retire from active labor, but con- 
tinue 4 to do with our might what our hands 
find to do ' for the spread of the gospel, and 
the glory of Christ, knowing that the time 
must be short. And let us report to each othet 
as we journey on." 



XXL 
CONCLUSION. 

aprfl, 1872. 

A SHORT time after the closing letter of 
the preceding chapter was written, the 
messenger came to call my father from his 
labors to enter into his rest. The last time that 
he went out was Friday, April 12, when he was 
present in his accustomed place at the weekly 
prayer-meeting, refreshing himself and strength- 
ening others with spiritual communion. The 
next morning found him oppressed and feverish ; 
but unaccustomed to yield to any trifling ill- 
ness, he dressed as usual, intending to bid good- 
by to friends who were to sail for Europ'e at an 
early hour that morning. 

But his strength failed him, and he was 
compelled to remain at home. Those who 
knew his power of will, but saw him neverthe- 
less submit to a foe stronger than he, felt, with 
a foreboding begotten by their anxious affection, 
that the shadow of death had indeed come to 
darken their hearts. 

613 



512 MEMORIALS OF 

He had completed his work; his trust 
accounts had been closed; his last words of 
admonition and Christian cheer had been spo- 
ken ; while his soul had been day by day living 
rather in the heavenly home than here. 

" His conversation," in the full meaning of 
that word, was " in heaven." 

Yet he had not put off the harness. As he 
says in his letters, " While I live I would serve 
my Master, and be his faithful soldier unto 
death." His wish was granted. One week only 
of pain and weariness was allotted him. During 
these days, one of his grandsons carried to him 
a bunch of rosebuds. 

He desired to see and talk with the child; 
and while enjoying the perfume of the flowers,* 
repeated the hymn of Watts, — 

" Go worship at Immanuel's feet, 
See in his face what wonders meet; 
Earth is too narrow to express 
His worth, his glory, or his grace. 

Is he a rose ? Not Sharon yields 
Such fragrancy in all her fields ; 
Or, if the lily he assume, 
The valleys bless the rich perfume." 

And with unfailing memory he repeated all the 
verses of that hymn, closing with 



CHARLES STODDARD. 513 

" Oh, let me climb those higher skies 
Where storms and darkness never rise ! 
There he displays his powers abroad, 
And shines and reigns the incarnate God. 

Nor earth, nor seas, nor sun, nor stars, 
Nor heaven, his full resemblance bears ; 
His beauties we can never trace 
Till we behold him face to face." 

The clay after this interview, he was confined 
to his bed. Much of the time was spent in 
prayer for others. 

He prayed earnestly for his immediate family ; 
he poured out fervent supplications for the 
members of that church with which he had 
been united so many years ; he prayed in whis- 
pered words, even when his strength failed, 
for the cause of Christ. 

Adoration was, as ever, mingled with his peti- 
tions. In his times of restlessness, a few of the 
words of Jesus would soothe and quiet him. 
And while they were repeated, he looked 
out beyond, as if he not only heard the words, 
but saw his beloved Redeemer. 

He had no strength now to warn those about 
him to be ready for this hour, nor had he 
visions and glorious revelations to describe to 
waiting watchers by his bedside ; but the peace 



514 MEMORIALS OF 

of God was a felt presence, so that even a 
stranger, who had been in many a home at such 
a time, esteemed it a blessing to be permitted 
to hear his prayers and minister to him. 

The second Sabbath morning found a change 
in him, which, to the inexperienced, awakened a 
faint hope of his recovery. Like the flame in 
the candle, which brightens just ere the light 
goes out, so he revived but for a few moments. 
Then whispering, " To-morrow I shall be with 
my Saviour," he shut his eyes like a weary 
child, and, with shorter and yet shorter breath- 
ing, went to sleep; to wake — "What type 
of earth can picture that awakening?" At- 
tendant angels lead him into the presence of 
his life-long, best-beloved Friend and Saviour. 
Let us leave him there, forever ' satisfied.' All 
the vain longings of empty human hearts must 
be still, contemplating such felicity. While 
we turn upward our tearful eyes to catch a 
gleam of the radiance that is within the portal, 
we hear a voice, "Why stand ye here gazing?" 
Follow him, as he followed Christ. Then shall 
ye also enter the gates, and join the assembly 
of the saints before the throne, who cry, " Wor- 
thy is the Lamb ! " 



CHARLES STODDARD. 515 

" Sure the last end 
Of the good man is peace. How calm his exit! 
Night dews fall not more gently to the ground, 
Nor weary, worn-out winds expire so soft. 
Behold him in the eventide of life, — 
A life well spent, whose early care it was. 
His riper years should not upbraid his green; 
By unperceived degrees he wears away, 
Yet, like the sun, seems larger at his setting. 
High in his faith and hopes, look how he reaches 
After the prize in view! and, like a bird 
That's hampered, struggles hard to get away; 
While the glad gates of sight are wide expanded 
To let new glories in, the first fair fruits 
Of the fast-coming harvest. Then, oh! then, 
Each earth-born joy grows vile, or disappears,^ 
Shrunk to a thing of nought. Oh, how he longs 
To have his passport signed, and be dismissed! 

'Tis done; and now he's happy! The glad soul 
Has not a wish uncrowned. E'en the lag flesh 
Rests too, in hope of meeting once again 
Its better half, never to sunder more. 
Nor shall it hope in vain : the time draws near, 
When not a single spot of burial earth 
Whether on land, or in the spacious sea, 
But must give «back its long-committed dust 
Inviolate." 

The funeral services were held in the Central 
Church, which was filled with men and women 
who had honored and loved Mr. Stoddard, and 
came to pay him this last tribute of their re- 
spect and affection. It was remarked, as an 
unusual characteristic of the services, that they 



516 MEMORIALS OF 

were animating and triumphant in tone. The 
hymns were favorites of his ; the first, — 

" Lo, what a glorious sight appears 
To our believing eyes! 
The earth and seas are passed away, 
And the old rolling skies. 

From the third heaven, where God resides, 

That holy, happy place, 
The New Jerusalem comes down 

Adorned with shining grace, 

Attending angels shout for joy, 

And the bright armies sing, — 
Mortals, behold the sacred seat 

Of your descending King. 

The God of glory down to men 

Removes his blest abode, — 
Men the dear objects of his grace, 

And he the loving God. 

His own soft hands shall wipe the tears 

From every weeping eye ; 
And pains, and groans, and griefs, and fears, 

And death itself, shall die. 

How long, dear Saviour! oh, how long 
Shall this bright hour delay? 
Fly swifter round, ye Avheels of time, 
And bring the welcome day! " 

Dr. Blagden, for many years his pastor, 
gave a lengthened testimony to his life of 
Christian fidelity and love, exemplified in days 



CHARLES STODDARD. 517 

of difficulty, as well as in days of peace and 
serenity. 

Dr. Manning, his pastor at the time of his 
death, read the following selections of Scrip- 
ture. Both pastors expressed, in their different 
ways, a deep sense of their personal loss in his 
removal. The words that were used by Dr. 
Manning in his reading were entirely from the 
Bible, beginning, — 

" I am the resurrection and the life : he that 
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in 
me shall never die. 

" He was a good man, and full of the Holy 
Ghost and of faith." 

" They that be wise shall shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmament ; and they that turn many 
to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever. 

"And he opened his mouth, and taught 
them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit ; for 
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are 
the meek ; for they shall inherit the earth. 
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness ; for they shall be filled. 
Blessed are the merciful ; for they shall obtain 
mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart ; for they 



518 MEMORIALS OF 

shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers; 
for they shall be called the children of God. 

" And I heard a voice from heaven, saying 
unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in 
the Lord, from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, 
for they rest from their labors, and their works 
do follow them. 

" Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way 
of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scorn- 
ful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord ; 
and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 

" The memory of the just is blessed. 

" The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away : 
blessed be the name of the Lord. 

" And it came to pass, as they still went on, 
that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire 
and horses of fire, and parted them both asun- 
der ; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into 
heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My 
father, my father ! the chariots of Israel and 
the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no 
more. And he took the mantle of Elijah, and 
smote the waters of Jordan therewith, saying, 
Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And the 
waters were parted hither and thither, and he 
went over. Comfort ye, comfort ye my peo- 



CHARLES STODDARD. 519 

pie, saith your God. O Lord, revive thy work ; 
in the midst of the years make known; in 
wrath remember mercy. 

u Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, 
neither let the mighty man glory in his might ; 
let not the rich man glory in his riches : but let 
him that glorieth glory in this, that he under- 
standeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord 
which exercise loving kindness, judgment, 
righteousness, in the earth ; for in these things 
I delight, saith the Lord. 

" Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy 
days may be long in the land which the Lord 
thy God giveth thee. The mercy of the Lord 
is from everlasting upon them that fear him, 
and his righteousness unto children's children. 

" Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and 
where thieves do not break through and steal ; 
for, where your treasure is, there will your heart 
be also. We know, that, if our earthly house 
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
building of God, an house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. 

" It is sown in weakness : it is raised in power. 
It is sown a natural body : it is raised a spiritual 
body; for this corruptible must put on incor- 



520 MEMORIALS OF 

ruption, and this mortal must put on immortal- 
ity. 

" And he carried me away in the spirit to a 
great and high mountain, and showed me that 
great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out 
of heaven from God, haying the glory of God ; 
and her light was like unto a stone most pre- 
cious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal ; 

"■And had a wall great and high, and twelve 
gates, and at the gates twelve angels ; and 
names written thereon, which are the names of 
the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. 

" On the east, three gates ; on the north, three 
gates ; on the south, three gates ; and, on the 
west, three gates. And the wall of the city 
had twelve foundations, and in them the names 
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he 
that talked with me had a golden reed to meas- 
ure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall 
thereof. 

"And the city lieth four square, and the 
length is as large as the breadth ; and he meas- 
ured the city with the reed, twelve thousand 
furlongs. The length and the breadth and the 
height of it are equal. 

" And he measured the wall thereof, an hun- 
dred forty and four cubits, according to the 






CHARLES STODDARD. 52i 

measure of a man ; that is, of the angel. And 
the building of the wall of it was of jasper ; 
and the city was pure gold, like unto clear 
glass. And the foundations of the wall of the 
city were garnished with all manner of pre- 
cious stones. The first foundation was jasper ; 
the second, sapphire ; the third, a chalcedony ; 
the fourth, an emerald ; the fifth, sardonyx ; the 
sixth, a sardius ; the seventh, chrysolite ; the 
eighth, a beryl ; the ninth, a topaz ; the tenth, a 
chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth ; the 
twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve, gates 
were twelve pearls ; every several gate was of 
one pearl ; and the street of the city was pure 
gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw 
no temple therein ; for the Lord God Almighty 
and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the 
city had ho need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God did 
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 
And the nations of them which are saved shall 
walk in the light of it, and the kings, of the 
earth do bring their glory and honor into it. 
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by 
day ; for there shall be no night there. 

" And they shall bring the glory and honor 
of the nations into it. And there shall in no 



522 MEMORIALS OF 

wise enter into it any thing that defileth, 
neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or 
maketh a lie; but they which are written in 
the Lamb's book of life. 

"And after this I beheld, and, lo, a great 
multitude which no man could number, of all 
nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, 
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, 
clothed with white robes, and palms in their 
hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Sal- 
vation to our God which sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb ! And all the an- 
gels stood round about the throne, and about 
the elders and the four beasts, and fell before 
the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 
saying, Amen ! Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, 
and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and 
might, be unto our God for ever and ever ! 
Amen. 

"And one of the elders answered, saying 
unto me, What are these which are arrayed in 
white robes? and whence came they? And I 
said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said 
to me, These are they which came out of great 
tribulation, and have washed their robes and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
Therefore are they before the throne of God, 



CHARLES STODDARD. 628 

and serve him day and night in his temple : 
and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell 
among them. They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst anymoie; neither shall the sun 
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb 
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains 
of waters : and God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes." 

Dr. Clark, Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M., 
gave a sketch of Mr. Stoddard's connection 
with the Board of Missions, and expressed his 
personal estimate of him, and his affection for 
him. It is not intended to make these pages a 
eulogy; and therefore the words of these friends 
are not inserted. But a fact Dr. Clark stated is 
given as he said it : — 

" Mr. Stoddard had selected from the thirty- 
third chapter of Isaiah, with the devotedness 
which characterized him, a verse to read at the 
next meeting of the Prudential Committee, 
on the Tuesday when he was prevented from 
being present. In this verse are the words, 
4 Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty ; 
they shall behold the land that is very far off.' 



524 MEMORIALS OF 

" Prophetic selection ! but we can change the 
tense, and say, 4 Thine eyes have seen the King 
in his beauty : they have beheld the land that is 
very far off.' " 

Dr. Hopkins, in a broken voice, told of his 
loss of a dear friend in Mr. Stoddard's depar- 
ture, while he mentioned, with high commenda- 
tion, his labors as trustee of Williams College. 
The quiet sleeper heard no praises, nor did he 
feel the hot tears that fell from poor and lonely 
widows who came to take one more look at a 
face that had brought to them ever a blessing. 
More touching than all the other manifesta- 
tions, were these tokens of love from solitary 
and humble children of God, who came to 
mourn in him a friend and benefactor. The 
closing hymn was the well-known 

* Jerusalem, my glorious home,' 

sung to strains of joy. According to his wish, 
his body was carried to his boyhood's home in 
Northampton; and in its cheerful but simple 
burial-ground, he was laid to rest. 

Peaceful is the place. Over his grave tall 
pines murmur their plaintive song, while be- 
neath their lofty branches streams the warm 
sunshine, with nothing to disturb the quiet. 



CHARLES STODDARD. 525 

Not far away are the graves of Brainerd, 
of Solomon Stoddard the minister, of David 
the missionary brother, — a goodly company, 
while those of his parents fill their place in the 
generations that long ago have reached their 
earthly goal. There his body is laid, separated 
from its tenant spirit* till the morning of the 
resurrection. 

" Then shalt thou glorious rise, and fair, 
Nor spot nor stain nor wrinkle bear; 
While I, with hovering wing elate, 
The bursting of thy bonds shall wait, 
And bear the welcome of the sky, 
No more to part, no more to die, 
Co-heir of immortality «" 



